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C. M. SAX TOW * C 



J.X.DIX, BEL. 



1850 



llTH.Of (}£O.CLfErE £E5 FULTON STK* 



COMPLETE MANUAL 

i\OX il}t Cultitration 



07 



THE CRANBERRY, 



WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE BEST VARIETIES. 



BY B. EASTWOOD, 

"SEPTIMUS," OF THE \EW YORK TKIB0NS. 



NEW YORK: 
C. M. SAXTOX & CO., 

AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS, 
140 Fulton Street. 

1857. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

C. M. SAXTON, & CO,. 

In th<> Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of 

New York. 



iStiiuatt) ©. Jriiktns, Printer, 
No. 28 Frankfort Street. 



"6 



c 






DEDICATION. 

TO THE 

Hon. HORACE GREELEY, 
Editor of the New York Tribune, and the IJNTiRiNa 
Advocate op whatever may develop the Agricul- 
tural Resources of the Country. 
This Manual is Inscribed by 

THE AUTHOR. 



CB) 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAOB 

Natural Histobt op the Cranberry 11 

CHAPTER II. 

First Growers. . . 19 

Difficulties of Cultivation— Failures and their Causes— The 
Fruits of Experience— Average Yields of Early Crops. 

CHAPTER III. 

Proper Locations of Cranberry Patches 26 

Uplands not Suitable— Reasons "Why— Stagnant Water— Best 
Aspects — Situations— Shelter Required. 

CHAPTER IV. 
Soils and Modes of Preparing Them 34 

CHAPTER V. 

Vines ^^ 

Time for Selection— Healthy Yines— Their Appearance— Un- 
healthy Vines— Signs of. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Cranberry Patch ": ^ 

How to Make— "When to Make. 



Vi CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VII. 

PAQK 

Planting Vines 49 

Time for Removing the Vine— Best time for Planting — 
Methods of Planting — Sod Planting, objections to — Separa- 
tion of Sod Vines — How to place the Roots and the Run- 
ners — Cutting Planting, Method of— Broadcast Method — 
Propagation from the Seed in the Berry— Methods of— 
Objections to. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Treatment of Young Vines 67 

Weeding — Hoeing — Flooding. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Blossoming Time — Precautions Required 61 

CHAPTER X. 

Diseases of the Cranberry 64 

The "Worm — Two Kinds — One attacks the Vine, and the other 
the Fruit — ^Fire Blight — Rot— Best Remedy for the Worm. 

CHAPTER XL 

Cranberry Picking Time 69 

Different Methods of Picking — Raking — Packing. 

CHAPTER XII. 

The Great Cranberry Markets 71 

Boston — ^New York — Philadelphia — Influence of Climate on 
Prices — Relative Value of Different Species of Cranberries 
— The Increase in the Consumption of Cranberries. 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Oxtcoccus Palustris, or Upland Cranberry 77 



CONTENTS. Vil 

CORRESPOiNDENCE. 

PAGE 

Letters from Growers — Practical Hints, &c 81 



Vines, where to be had 108 

Appendix to the Manual 109 

Flint's Statistics and Method op Culture 110 

Leland's Method 113 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

TITLE PAGE 1 

BELL CRANBERRY 18 

BUGLE " 18 

CHERRY '' 18 

HEALTHY VINE 41 

SOD PLANTING „ 52 

CENTRAL CUTTING PLANTING 53 

CUTTING PLANTING 51 

DISEASES 64 

CRANBERRIES OF COMMERCE 75 



(8) 



'^0 il^t Jlmhr. 



Every one connected with agricultural pursuits in 
tHs country, must be aware that there exists at pre- 
sent considerable anxiety respecting the best modes of 
cultivating the cranberry. Having been attracted to 
this subject, I paid particular attention to it, and in- 
stituted a series of investigations, with special refer- 
ence to raising the berry as an article of commerce. 
In these, I was materially assisted by some of the 
most successful growers in the country, whose "yards" 
I visited, and whose experiences I received from their 
own lips. The results of these investigations I par- 
tially embodied in a series of letters which were made 
public through the columns of the "New York 
Tribune," arid so great was the attention they excited, 
and so many letters asking for further information 
were forwarded to me, that I concluded to embody my 
own experience, and that of others on the subject, in 
the manual which is now before the reader. In it, any 
1* 



10 TO THE READER. 

intelligent farmer will find all tlie knowledge lie can 
require for raising the cranberry. It only remains for 
me generally, to tliank tlie many gentlemen who have 
favored me with their experiences, and to call atten- 
tion to the valuable letters which are incorporated 
with this work, and to note the designs by J. E. Dix, 
Esq., which were made under my own directions from 
naturC) and are accurate in all respects. 

Januajiy, 1856, 



THE CRANBERRY. 



CHAPTER I. 

NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CRANBERRY. 

If the traveller over Cape Cod will now and then 
turn his eye toward the borders of the many ponds 
which abound in that region, or occasionally examine 
the mai'gin of swampy tracts, he will frequently per- 
ceive patches, as they are technically termed, of a 
strange-looking, and at first sight, a seemingly stunted 
vegetation, presenting very different appearances to 
those exhibited by fields of stately Indian corn ; or 
tracts of farm land, where the tall stalks of the rye 
wave, and ears of wheat look golden in the sunshine 
of summer. 

A certain preciseness of planting, and regularity of 
disposition, convinces even the most careless observer, 
that these patches are by no means unproductive. 
And if he chooses to inquire of the next person he 
meets, he will learn that these, to him singular-looking 
specimens of farming, are cranberry grounds. 

(11) 



12 THE CRANBERRY. 

We have selected Cape Cod as the imaginary field 
of our illustration, inasmuch as that erroneously sup- 
posed exclusively sandy region contains within its 
boundaries more cranberry yards than any other 
locality of similar dimensions, that we are aware of 
The reason why it should be so, is obvious enough. 
Its mixture of sand and soil, its peculiar climate, its 
exemption from early frosts, — matters to which, with 
others relevant to the subject, we shall hereafter refer 
— are all favorable to the production of cranberries. 
Indeed, this berry promises to share, with the codfish, 
a great local popularity. 

There are many other parts of this great country 
where cranberries are grown, but it is confessed on all 
hands, that Cape Cod takes the lead in this enterprise. 
Her few growers have achieved a reputation for their 
fruit, which already commands ready sales, and the 
best prices. This circumstance has of late drawn at-^ 
tention to the growing of cranberries, as a money- 
making undertaking ; and curiosity having been once 
excited, it is not likely to be allayed, until growers in 
other parts of the States spring up, and like their Cape 
Cod brethren, succeed in making otherwise unproduc- 
tive tracts of land both fruitful and a source of gain. 
For there are at this moment thousands of acres of 
swampy and sandy places, in the great West and in the 
South, which by a little labor can be converted into 



THE CRANBERRY. 13 

cranberry grounds. The only difficulty experienced 
by those who are inclined to enter this field of agri- 
cultural industry, is the difficulty experienced by every 
other new enterprise, — the want of knowing how to 
begin, — and when begun, how to carry it on to a suc- 
cessful issue. Hitherto, no reliable instructions have 
appeared in print, but in the following pages, the sub- 
ject will be so fully treated of, in all its bearings, that 
any intelligent agriculturist will, by following the 
hints thrown out, and the directions given, find no 
difficulty whatever in securing decent crops of this in- 
creasingly popular berry. 

The cranberry has long been known to naturalists 
as a berry possessing certain properties and peculiari- 
ties, although but comparatively few years have 
elapsed since its use as a culinary fruit has been exten- 
sively known. Long years ago, it was used by the 
Indians, who in their way were extensively acquainted 
with the products of the soil ; they gathered, and 
roasted the unripe berries and used them as poultices, 
believing that when applied to the wounds made by 
poisoned arrows, they had the power of drawing 
the venom forth. Many a squaw of the Pequods on 
Cape Cod, if we may credit the statements of some of 
the early settlers, made a mess of cranberries to give a 
relish to the venison they killed and cooked ; thus an- 
ticipating the more elaborate jelly of our own times, 



14 THE CRANBERRY. 

or the cranberry sauce, witliout which a thanksgiving 
turkey is now considered shorn of half its glory. 

These cranberries, however, were wild, and of an 
austere flavor, just as the potatoes which Sir "Walter 
Ealeigh first discovered and carried with him to Eng- 
land were but the puny progenitors of the large and 
mealy affairs which now, as Chenangoes, Irish, or 
under other specific names, appear daily on every table. 

It is not positively known from what particular 
country the cranberry originally came. Most pro- 
bably, like many other fruits and plants, it is indi- 
genous to many soils. One thing is certain, that in 
various parts of America, both North and South, it 
exists in a wild state, in various parts, in great profu- 
sion, and it is not unreasonable to suppose, that there 
are at this moment uncountable acres in this country 
where it abounds unheeded, and only allowed to run 
waste because the value of the berries is not known. 
On many of the vast steppes of Eussia wild cranberries 
abound, and even amid the wastes of Siberia it is oc- 
casionally to be met with. Indeed, the Eussian cran- 
berries proved for a long tune to be no inconsiderable 
portion of the exports of that country, and even until 
the breaking out of the Eastern War, there were to be 
seen among bales of hides, hogsheads of tallow, bundles 
of bristles, and bales of hemp, certain quaint-looking 
earthen jars, which contained cranberries for the use 



THE ENGLISH CRANBERRY. 15 

of the lords and ladies of London. And it was onlj 
sucli who could afford to pay the high prices de- 
manded for these Muscovite luxuries. Now that the 
Crimean War has effectually put a stop to the impor- 
tation of Eussian cranberries, it is but reasonable to 
suppose that the American article will monopolize the 
English market. 

At the present time, there are but two kinds of cran- 
berries in the market — ^these are known as the Enghsh 
and American cranberry. Without entering into 
scientific details, or perplexing the reader with botan- 
ical technicalities, we will, as concisely as may be, 
describe both kinds, and their special peculiarities. 

THE ENGLISH CRANBERRY. 

(OXTOOCOtrS PALU8TEI8.) 

This species of cranberry abounds in many of the 
marshy and fenny districts of England, and in some 
parts of Ireland. In the latter country, they are 
scarcely noticed by the peasantry, who seem to devote 
all their energies to the cultivation of the inevitable 
potato. There are two counties in the midland, or 
rather eastern districts of England, which are cele- 
brated for the large extent of marshes and fens they 
contain. Indeed, many portions of Korfolk and Xin- 
colnshire are mere bogs, or swamps, at certain rainy 



16 THE ENGLISH CllANBEKRY. 

seasons ; thousands of acres are submerged, the only 
harvest supplied by tliem being wild ducks and the 
like, for the great markets of the principal cities. 

In these counties, the wild cranberry is found in 
great abundance, but it is a peculiarity of the plant, 
that it never grows among the stagnant water, but 
wherever found, it always flourishes by the side of the 
numerous little rills which feed the great fens. From 
this fact, very useful hints may be taken by the grower 
of the cultivated vine, as we shall have hereafter occa- 
sion to show. The English fruit is scarcely as large 
as an ordinary green pea, it is of a pale-red color, and 
having an austere and almost acrid taste. It possesses 
a bitter principle, on which its peculiar flavor mainly 
depends, and a small portion of tannin, which renders 
the raw berry somewhat astringent. This principle, 
however, and of course its eflects, are destroyed in 
cooking. The English housewife from this berry 
manufactures marmalade, jelly, jam, and the like, and 
for puddings and pies are much prized; but in her 
cuisne the delicately flavored cultivated cranberry is 
not known, excepting indeed her master, on his return 
from a visit to London, brings with him a bottle of 
the American cranberries, for which he has paid the 
not very moderate price of five shillings (or nearly 
a dollar and a quarter) sterling. This leads us to be- 
lieve that if our transatlantic parent, John BuU, was to 



THE AMERICAN CRANBERRY. 17 

exercise as miicli diligence and tact as his son Jonathan 
has done on this side the ocean, in cultivating the cran- 
berry vines of the fens, he would reap an abundant 
harvest from lands which are now lying as barren 
wastes. But while the present war lasts, there is little 
chance of his going ahead in this particular depart- 
ment of agriculture ; and therefore the growers here 
will doubtless, for a long time to come, find a market 
in England for the species we will next call the reader's 
attention to. 

THE AMERICAN CRANBERRY. 

(OXTCOOOirS MAOEOCABPT78.) 

It is scarcely necessary to say much about a berry, 
which must be so familiar to almost all, as is the 
American cranberry. Of course it has the same gene- 
ral properties as the English fruit, but yet there are 
important differences, as well as resemblances. While 
the English berry is small, of a pale red, the American 
one is large, and richly colored ; some specimens are as 
deeply crimsoned as a dark-hued cherry. The leaves, 
blossom, and fruit of the latter also, are much larger, 
and the flavor greatly superior ; by some the reverse 
bas been asserted, but from experience, and practical 
knowledge, we can testify to the superiority of the 
American cranberry over all others that we have ever 
met with. 



18 AMERICAN VARIETIES. 

The American cranberry, is divided by growers and 
dealers into three great varieties. These are^ 

1. The bell cranberry. 

2. The bugle cranberry. 

3. The cherry cranberry. 

I. The bell cranberry. — This species is so 
called because of some fancied resemblance to a bell in 
its shape. Of this variety there is but one kind. It is 
about the largest species, and almost as dark colored 
as blood coral. Of its comparative yield, as well as of 
those of the other kinds, we shall by-and-by speak. — 
{See plate No. 2). 

II. The bugle cranberry. — This species some- 
what resembles a bugle bead, it being elongated, and 
approaching an oval. Of the bugle species there are 
two kinds, large and small — the large is generally 
preferred by the growers. — {See plate No. 3). 

III. The cherry cranberry. — So called from its 
similarity in shape, size, and color to that well-known 
fruit. It is of two kinds, large and small. Each of 
these kinds are in ,the market, and with this brief but 
sufficient notice of them we close this chapter. — {See 
plate No, 4). 




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o j^L; L I . • /• . f* &< I. n rs 1 




Djx.,deJ 



8U(!LE C ran 8 EBB' 




CHERRY CRANBERRY 



/V/5 TU R At SIZE. 



%.^:r.Jf.Dr^ a^i ^., 







Plate 4 



CHAPTER II. 

FIRST QROAVERS. 

Difficulties of Cultivation — Failures, and their Causes — 
The Fruits of Experience — ^Average Yields of early 
Crops. 

Most new enterprises and undertakings have been 
attended with difficulty. For the want of correct know- 
ledge, supported by experience, disappointment and 
failure have frequently been the result of efforts which 
have been sought to.be crowned with success. There 
is not the commonest root or vegetable on the farm, 
but what requires knowledge and experience in its 
management. 

Some individuals suddenly determine upon quitting 
the city store, and make choice of a farmer's profession 
as that which they intend to follow in the future of 
their lives. But any person, who knows even little 
of agriculture, is certain of this, that such an inexperi- 
enced individual is sure to meet with difficulties in 
his new calling which will be discouraging ; and be- 

(19) 



20 FIRST GROWERS. 

cause lie cannot make the soil yield as his capricious 
mind desires, he is too apt to abandon the plough and 
the spade, making the obstacles that lie in his path 
the reason of his quitting his new profession. The 
difiS-Culties lie not so much in the soil, as they do in 
himself The soil is ready to give its increase to those 
who know how to call it forth, while to such as do 
not, it withholds a portion of its strength. This has 
been the case with some of the early growers of the 
famous cranberry. For want of knowledge, and ex- 
perience their plants suffered ; some running to vines, 
others yielding in such small quantities, that they were 
discouraged, and abandoned the undertaking as one 
that would not pay. 

The cranberry vine, in its wild condition, does not 
seem to offer much temptation to a thrifty farmer, be- 
cause it appears such a stunted, barren thing, that few 
would imagine it could be turned to profitable account. 
He must have been a sagacious man, and bold withal, 
who saw that he could make the cranberrj^ an article 
of profitable commerce ; and determined upon so 
doing. To rescue this vine from the bogs and 
swamps was in former times no small undertaking ; 
but now the difficulties are fewer, from the fact that 
farmers have the experience of the first cultivators to 
fall back upon. In Dennis, Mass., one of the largest 
and most successful cranberry localities, perhaps, to be 



FIRST GEO WEES. 21 

found iu tlie United States, attention was drawn to this 
fruit some forty years ago. It was found in a low, 
swampy place. The proprietor began to bestow a 
little care upon the vine ; by doing so, he perceived 
that the fruit improved in flavor, color, and size ; but 
still, he was not properly alive to all the advantages 
connected with the berry, and hence the vine would in 
some measure suffer for the want of care and attention. 
A boy whose father owned a swamp in which the 
cranberry flourished, removed some of the vines, and 
set them out carelessly by a pond. In doing this, he 
was derided and plainly told that they would not 
come to anything. But after all they did flourish and 
do well, and thus a little was gained by this simple 
effort. It proved that the cranberry was susceptible 
of great improvement. 

It is about fifteen years ago since the minds of many 
were awakened to this subject, and since several de- 
termined to make a trial to cultivate the cranberry. 
Those who first undertook this were largely bespat- 
tered with unpleasant remarks, and told that it would 
be a useless attempt. Five years elapsed, and they 
had established this fact, that the cranberry could be 
cultivated and made useful to the farmer as a market- 
able commodity. About ten years since, those who 
owned patches of swampy land, began to turn their 
attention to them, and resolved upon making the cran- 



22 FIRST GROWERS. 

berry a leading article of importance and profit on 
their farms. Up to tliat time little was known of how 
the vine should be managed. 

The first cultivators were beset with difiiculties — 
these were numerous ; and so great were they deemed, 
that some individuals gave up in despair. These diffi- 
culties we will briefly sketch, that the reader who con- 
templates making a cranberry yard may not be dis- 
couraged by what he may deem hardships and ob- 
stacles in his way. 

There was a general ignorance of the nature and 
habits of the vine. Some vines were found on the 
edges of swamps and ponds, and their runners would 
seem to avoid the water, and seek the dry upland. 
This led to the opinion that a dry situation was best 
adapted to the wants of the cranberry ; accordingly, 
some planted the vine in locations that were rather 
dry and arid. They lingered on for a time, looked 
sickly, blighted, and stunted in their growth, yielding 
but little or no fruit. Some who tried this method 
were discouraged. 

The cranberry vine is likewise found away from the 
edges of the bogs and swamps ; situated in the centre 
of these are small mounds and tufts of soil that are to 
be met with in abundance. On these elevations the 
vine is often to be found. It will throw its runners 
down to the water, and from this fact, the conclusion 



FIRST GROWERS. 23 

come to by many was, that the vine absolutely needed 
a situation like the one described, and then it would 
do well enough. They tried to imitate nature in this 
respect and failed. They gave them too much water, 
and drowned them. 

The question of location was a source of trouble. 
Some would plant in the swamp, and others in dry 
situations. Some would select a southerly aspect, and 
others a northern one. There was no rule or experi- 
ence to guide them in the commencement of forming a 
yard, hence their difficulties and consequent failures. 

Then, soils was a source of perplexity to many. 
"Would the cranberry do better in rich loamy soil, than 
in any other? Most plants flourished in such earth ; 
then, why not the vine ? It was tried, and the plants 
run to vines, looked well and thrifty, and bore but 
little fruit. Clay must be good for them. This was 
also tested, but it caked, and the plants in summer 
were stunted, shrivelled, and burnt up. 

Peat was experimented with, and was found no 
better than clay, (but we shall show when we come 
to treat on soils, that this vegetable soil can be 
so prepared as to be a rival to beach sand). We 
must not overlook the treatment to which the vines 
were subjected in these early days of the cranberry 
culture. They were too frequently planted and left 
to take care of themselves, and the wild grass — the 



24 FIRST GROWERS. 

almost fatal enemy of the vine — would choke them. 
All these difficulties produced their results. Some 
gave up, but others tried and experimented again and 
again, until success crowned their efforts. 

The fruits of this rich experience are abundant, and 
have proved useful to those who are now intending to 
cultivate the cranberry vine. They have improved 
the vine itself, — ^have naturalized it, have by cultiva- 
tion made th^ vine yield largely, and a fruit, too, in 
some instances about thrice the size of the berry in its 
native swamp, or bog. The intending cultivator has 
now this advantage over the first growers : he has in- 
structions to fall back upon, instructions which it is 
safe to follow, because practical experiment has taught 
us what is to be avoided, and what is to be done. A 
yard can now be prepared at a much less cost than it 
could in former years, and those who have persevered 
in keeping their yards in a good condition, and have 
enlarged them, have for the last few years been real- 
izing more than paying profits. It is this experience 
which cheapens the cost of a yard, for the advantage 
is with him who knows how to make it, while the 
ignorant will have to fight the difficulties and obstacles 
which opposed the first growers, and consequently it 
will entail greater expense upon him. 

The average yield of early crops is not large. It 
takes a few years for the vines to mat, and if the loca 



FIRST GROWERS. 25 

tion is suitable, and thej receive a moderate degree of 
attention, eacb. year will increase their productive capa- 
bilities, so that the third or fourth year will begin to 
pay the cultivator with remunerative prices. 

From the difficulties presented in this chapter which 
lay in the path of the early growers of the cranberry, 
let not the reader be discouraged. There is no occa- 
sion for such a feeling, because you have the benefit 
of experience, and the best method of cultivation to 
guide you ; the particulars of which we shall state in 
the next chapter. 



CHAPTER III. 

PROPER LOCATIONS FOR CRANBERRY 

PATCHES. 

Uplands not Suitable — Reason Why — Stagnant Water not 
Suitable — Best Aspects — Situations — Shelter Required. 

Just at tliis time there is considerable excitement 
on tlie subject of cranberry cultivation. It is proba- 
ble that it has to some extent been created by the very 
high prices which this fruit has been fetching of late 
years, but more especially in the fall of 1855. It is 
quite proper that a practical farmer, who is aware of 
the fact above stated, should ask himself if he cannot 
cultivate the vine ? if he cannot turn some portion of 
his land to some account ? if he cannot appropriate 
a small patch of low meadow land to be planted with 
cranberries ? It is believed that many who are keenly 
alive to this subject, would at once begin to make a 
survey of their farm to ascertain whether any part of 
it would be, or could be made into a good profitable 
cranberry patch, providing they knew what kiad of 

(26) 



LOCATIONS FOR PATCHES. 27 

locations are most suitable, and best adapted to develop 
this berrj. 

In reference to locationsy there are various opinions, 
each, grower giving the preference to those situations 
in which his own vines do best. 

We find that there are such differences on this sub- 
ject that it will not be amiss to state them as clearlj 
as we can, and then describe those locations to which 
the generality of producers so strictly adhere. 

The question has often been put, Can cranberries be 
grown on uplands ? Is it a suitable situation ? will it 
pay to plant on elevated grounds ? The cranberry is 
not a native of the upland, and w^ill never do well in 
such situations if there is not nigh to the roots some 
of those elements which nourish and strengthen the 
plant in its wild and unreclaimed condition. The 
cranberry needs moisture, and that in great proportions 
for so small a plant. If it is set out on the upland^ 
and it does not derive sufficient moisture from the at- 
mosphere, that is, more than is needed by surrounding 
vegetation, and if it cannot derive it from another 
source, it will die. 

If the cranberry is planted upon the upland, water 
should be in the ground, so as to supply the roots with 
moisture. If that situation is an incline, it will be 
better, because it will take off the surplus water under 
the plants, and leave them enough to meet their de- 



28 LOCATIONS FOR PATCHES. 

mands. In upland planting, where the vines have 
done well and produced good crops, we are of opinion 
that they have been favorably situated. 

In the absence, or rather scarcity of moisture, it is 
common to hoe and stir the soil about the roots of the 
plants, that it may be kept porous, so that the air may 
contribute to the vine's necessities. 

You must not forget this, that those who plant on 
uplands are put to trouble and expense in frequent 
hoeing. Some individuals seem to admire and prefer 
the upland, but we cannot see any reason for this, ex- 
cept that it is the best situation they have at command. 
Years of trial and experiment may yet bring this loca- 
tion into notoriety. We have seen the upland tried 
on Cape Cod, but the plants failed, though some few 
lived and yielded fruit. The gentleman* who tried 
this experiment, believes that if he had taken care of 
his plants and hoed them often, he would have succeed- 
ed better. This is his opinion. In our investigations 
on this subject we fell in with the following item in the 
Boston Telegraphy which we give entire, that the reader 
may have all the evidence we can give him in favor 
of the upland as a suitable location for cranberries : 

" Other experiments, however, show the practica- 
bility of raising cranberries on upland. Mr. Roberts' 

* James Howes, Esq. 



LOCATIONS FOR PATCHES. 29 

experiment embraced a tract near the foot of a slope 
descending in a westerly direction. Tlie ground was 
ploughed eight inches deep, and harrowed ; light fur- 
rows, three and a half feet apart, were run lengthwise, 
and the sods were cut from the swamp, carted on the up- 
land, and placed three feet apart in the rows (though 
two would have been better), then carefully hoed and 
kept free from weeds for two years. No water was 
supplied except that received from occasional rains." 

Notwithstanding this evidence appears strong and 
conclusive, yet we believe that the most experienced 
cultivators regard the experiment as hazardous, and in 
most cases fatal to the development of the cranberry. 
We give the opinion of one of the oldest cultivators 
on Cape Cod, which is, — '' that if you plant on the 
upland it is difficult to raise your vines to bearing per- 
fection, and it will entail much labor and expense upon 
him who undertakes it. Guard against the upland 
mania." Upland planting is regarded as " risky busi- 
ness ;" it is therefore avoided on Cape Cod, where the 
management of the vine is better understood than in 
any other part of America. 

Places in which stagnant water has collected have 
been selected by some persons, and converted into 
cranberry patches. It is positively wrong to do this, 
because the water lodging in the soil having no drain 
by which it may be drawn off, renders it sodden, cold, 



30 LOCATIONS FOR PATCHES. 

and stiff, and it consequently causes the roots of tlie 
vine to rot, and ultimately the plants die from such a 
surfeit. Such locations cannot with safety be chosen 
except they undergo a thorough preparation — draining, 
levelling, and carting on soil, which is friendly to the 
growth of cranberries. 

If these stagnant pools are selected, great precau- 
tions will be demanded in order to make them suita- 
ble for the reception of the vine. 

Let us name those locations, and point out those 
situations which are most conducive to the full devel- 
opment of the berry. 

In selecting a place for a patch, it is well to consider 
its aspect. Though we have seen the vine doing well,- 
and to all appearances very thrifty, when the yard has 
faced the north, yet experience is in favor of a souther- 
ly direction. If possible, in forming your patch, let it 
be sheltered from the cold raw winds ; give it the ad- 
vantage of the warm breezes ; by doing this you will 
be more likely to succeed than if you neglected it. 

A swamp may be chosen. If you find the vine 
growing round the edges of a bog, you may safely 
conclude that the plant can there be advantageously 
cultivated. In the preparation of these locations, there 
is often much labor and some expense. But this de- 
pends upon its surface, what you have to do in remov- 
ing the turf and '' filling in." It is customary with 



LOCATIONS FOR PATCHES. 31 

some growers to redeem a certain proportion of their 
swamps yearly ; by thus proceeding, they ultimately 
overcome the natural obstacles before them, and ac- 
complish what they intended to realize. The sight of 
each year's progress encourages them to persevering 
effort. Then it must be so that you can drain off the 
water at your own pleasure. If you make a cranberry 
patch in a swamp, and it is liable to have water stand- 
ing in pools over the vines in the summer season, this 
will operate as a hindrance to the ripening of the 
berry. This precaution must be observed in making 
choice of such a situation, that you can expel or draw 
off the water, when it is necessary. 

Meadow land, which is low and moist, affords an 
excellent location for the cranberry. In fact, these 
damp situations are very suitable, providing the damp- 
ness or moisture is not too cold and icy. If the mois- 
ture beneath the surface in which the vine is planted 
is of too cold a temperature, it will prove fatal to the 
young vines. Care must be had, in selecting for a 
yard, to ascertain if the water is too cold; if it is not, it 
may be converted into a useful and profitable cran- 
berry patch. There must be water in the land in which 
they are planted. As a general rule, it is best to have 
it within twelve inches of the surface. The object 
of this is to give moisture. The grower must have it, 
or his plants will fail. 



32 LOCATIONS FOR PATCHES. 

A gradual slope is often to be met with, coming 
down to the edge of a pond. When such inclines are 
properly prepared and planted, they make the best of 
yards; and such locations generally have a soil in 
which the vine will do excellently ; and there is not 
so much trouble with them, as the gravel chokes the 
weed. 

Sheltered and protected positions should be sought 
after ; situations in which the plants are not likely to 
receive and meet with the force of the fiercest and 
stormiest weather. 

Sandy patches of land, or plats, that are near to 
the sea-shore, which are not liable to be overflowed 
with the salt water, on Cape Cod, stand high. We 
have examined many yards that are situated within a 
few rods of the ocean, only protected from the hardest 
weather by a small rising in the land, which forms a 
bank to resist the waves ; and these yards are among 
the handsomest in the county of Barnstable ; and 
every year these situations are becoming of more value 
and consequence to the cultivators of the cranberry. 

There are on Long Island, and in New Jersey, vast 
tracts of beach land which are available, and admirably 
adapted to the growth of cranberries. Likewise, in 
the South and West, there are thousands of acres 
which are better adapted for the production of this 
fruit than anything else. 



LOCATIONS FOR PATCHES. 33 

It is wortli the agriculturist's "vvhile to pay some 
attention to this subject. Every year the cranberry is 
in greater demand, higher prices are being realized. 
It is becoming a staple article in the great markets of 
the country. Then, why do you, whom nature has 
favored with all you need, but planting your yard, 
neglect to make an effort to share the profits arising 
from the cultivation and sale of this article ? 

[Note. — ^In planting vines, dead levels by the side 
of the ponds should be guarded against. The yard 
should conform to the land behind it, sloping from the 
hill to the edge of the pond. The reason for this is, 
that if it is not done, water from the hills will cause 
the land to be springy and spongy, and that it will 
make stagnant water, which generates a green, slimy 
moss, which is an enemy to the cranberry vine.] 
2* 



CHAPTER IV. 

SOILS AND THE MODE OF PREPARINO 

THEM 

It is of importance tliat the nature of those soils in 
which the cranberry will most easily grow, should be 
considered, and known to those who intend turning 
their attention to its culture. Many failures have re- 
sulted, not so much from the unsuitableness of the 
location chosen, as from the badness of the soil. It is 
generally the case, that the best and richest soils are 
selected, as those in which experiments ought to be 
tried. Failures sometimes occur, not because the 
climate or the season are unsuitable, but because the 
soil is too rich. If the vine is planted in good alluvial 
soil, it will do well, apparently, but it will not bear 
fruit. Such soil will cause the plant to abound with 
healthy foliage, and a vast quantity of runners, but no 
fruit. Manuring is wholly out of the question. K it 
is attempted, it will kill the plants, or in some cases 
make them grow rank, and they will be worse than 
they are found to be in their native swamp. 

Clay and marl are totally unfit for cranberry cul- 

(84) 



PREPARING SOILS. 35 

tivation. Either of this class are liable to cake and 
become bard ; and whatever soil cakes and sogs around 
the root of the plant, is to be avoided. 

If intending cultivators would exercise some caution 
in the choice of soil, it would prevent both trouble and 
expense. Failure is often caused by inattention at this 
stage of the undertaking. 

Rocky loam is not very favorable to the development 
of the cranberry. The objection which lies against it 
is, that wiry grass and rushes abound therein. These 
grasses and rushes are to be guarded against in a cran- 
berr}^ yard, or they will choke the vine. Loam of the 
kind above-named may he made to do, but it will re- 
quire excessive cultivation, in order to effect anything 
of importance. 

Heavy soils^ taken as a class, are not of much service ; 
the grower will do well to avoid them to as great an 
extent as possible. And, indeed, it is questionable 
whether the vine can be cultivated at all to any pur- 
pose on soils of the above description. The vine may 
grow on such lands and seem to flourish, but they will 
not bear ; they are unfruitful, and if so, therefore un- 
profitable. 

The following soils are those which are preferred by 
the Cape Cod cranberry cultivators. There is one fact 
which ought to be stated here, as introductory to the 
subsequent suggestions and statements, and it will not 



86 PREPARING SOILS. 

be amiss for the inexperienced cultivator to remember 
it. If lie bears it in mind, be will avoid many diffi- 
culties wbicb have discouraged others. It is this : 
Dead sand, water and a^V, are the elements upon wbicb 
tbe cranberry feeds the best, and attains its highest de- 
gree of perfection; therefore, that soil and location 
which has these advantages is best adapted for the 
growth of the berry. 

Beach sand stands the first. All other kinds must 
be rejected if this can be got. Experience teaches us 
this. Those yards which are wholly bottomed by beach 
5awc? flourish and yield abundantly, far better than those 
that have a different soil. During the past fifteen years 
every variety of soil and situation have been experi- 
mented with, and the results are entirely in favor of 
the beach sand. On Cape Cod, the greatest cranberry 
field in America, situations are sought for where the 
cultivator can be near to the shore, that he may be 
able to put on this sand, if it is not on his chosen 
location. 

We will, in this connection, call attention to a small 
yard with which we are acquainted, which is situated 
near to the sea-shore. It was originally a pond; 
water stood in the basin, but it was not deep. On the 
banks and edges of this pond was sand in abundance, 
which the owner spaded down to the water, and con- 
tinued to fill in. He planted ; some said it would 



PREPATIING SOILS. 37 

not do mucli, but now it is one of the handsomest 
yards in the county. Everything seems to be favor- 
able — soil, situation, and water — and the result is, heavy 
yields of the berry. In this, as many as three bushels 
have been picked off a square rod. And so well is it 
now known that situations where beach sand abounds 
are the best, that the most practical men are buying up 
such locations with the view of converting them into 
cranberry yards. 

We are acquainted with one cultivator, whose yards 
produce from two to three hundred bushels of cran- 
berries annually, who has the greatest proportion of 
his vines planted in the beach sand, and some few in 
loam. The difference between the two is marked. Those 
in sand are fruitful, those in loam are but small pro- 
ducers. He therefore carts off the loam, or carts upon 
it heach sand. 

We could produce a vast body of evidence to demon- 
strate that beach sand is better adapted to develop the 
cranberry than any other soil ; but the cases adduced 
are suflQ.cient. 

There is another reason, though, which should not 
be lost sight of, why this sand is so much better than 
any other soil. It is light, porous, and is almost inca- 
pable of supporting weeds. It admits the atmosphere 
freely to the roots of the vine, and is found to be the 
only soil in which the rank weeds can be effectually 



38 PREPARING SOILS. 

kept down. It will thus be clear to tlie reader, tliat 
in such, a situation, the plant can throw out its runners 
in every direction, and having no weed to contend 
against, will therefore spread rapidly, and soon become 
matted, a condition of the yard towards which the prac- 
tical man looks with anxiety. If you are about to make 
the attempt to cultivate the cranberry, if possible, ob- 
tain beach sand in which to set out your vines ; or 
coarse sand when the former cannot be obtainedj but 
the white is preferred. 

Peat is found to be excellent, in fact, next in value 
and importance to the beach sand, for the growth of 
cranberries. But peat wants management and care in 
its preparation, in order to be made useful to the vine. 
In selecting a peat swamp to be converted into a cran- 
berry patch, it is necessary to take off the top turf, or 
grass, and if possible give the yard a little incline. 
"When this is done, it is unsafe to plant at once. If 
you do so, you will find that the peat will in the fol- 
lowing summer cake and crack. It will be hard on the 
surface, and some few inches below stiff and dry. 
The veriest tyro in cranberry cultivation knows that 
such a condition is very bad for the vine. 

How is this difficulty obviated f Prepare the surface 
as we have stated above, and leave the yard exposed 
to the frost and weather for one year. When the frost 
is thawed out of it, it will crumble and be powdery. 



PREPARING SOILS. 39 

It will never cake afterward. It will be light and 
porous. You may then with safety plant your vines, 
and with moderate attention they will do well. 

[Note. — We have lately visited a famous cranberry 
producer, who is filling up a pond with loam, composed 
of sandj clai/, and a small proportion of marl The 
pond is about four feet deep. AVhen this is filled up 
and levelled, he will plant it in the spring, believing 
that the soil will meet the wants of the vine.] 



CHAPTER Y. 

VINES. 

Time for Selection — Healthy Vines — Their Appearance — 
Unhealthy Vines — Signs of. 

It is possible that an intending cranberry cultivator 
may liave the advantages of location and soils, plant 
vines, and fail. If the bearing or fruitful vine is not 
chosen, the result of the first attempt will be unprofit- 
able. In determining upon making a trial, it is neces- 
sary that the inexperienced should have some know- 
ledge of the plants which he is about to purchase, or he 
should have implicit confidence in the person from 
whom he buys them. 

The cranberry vine is such a simple, insignificant- 
looking plant, and the difference in the varieties is so 
hard to be distinguished, that this fact accounts in 
some measure for the utter failure of so many. There 
are instances, which we could easily cite, where even 
some of the most experienced have been misled and 
deceived by the appearance of the vine : then, we can- 
not wonder at the beginner suffering loss. We are 
m 



e ^ S 

hi^ ^-Ti K 




z 5 

> ? 

I U) 






VINES. 41 

aware that under tlie head, of this chapter we are tread- 
ing on delicate ground, and confess that we feel the 
difficulty of making the distinctive peculiarities of the 
vines so clear, that from this account a person may 
distinguish and select for himself (See Plate No. 5.) 

In some cases the vine will be planted in the fall, 
and at such times they are purchased most probably 
immediately before setting out. Of course, the leaf 
will be examined, and the color and strength of the 
spears noticed. If the purchaser relies upon the green 
appearance of the vine as an indication of its fruitful- 
ness, he may be deceived, and regret that he allowed 
himself to be misled by such a sign. 

Another may determine upon planting in the spring 
(which is certainly under some circumstances the most 
favorable season), and in such a case they would select 
and prepare their location in the course of the winter, 
that in May or June they might be ready to plant or 
set out. Plants for spring planting are most frequently 
chosen in the winter. But generally, the buying of 
plants at such times is a mere piece of guess-work, for 
there is likely nothing in their appearance which may 
certify the purchaser that they are good and fruitfal. 
Plants may be selected in the spring or fall ; one time 
is as favorable as the other for this purpose. 

In speaking of the Healthy Vine, we wish to be UJi- 
dertood as referring to that which is the most fruitful — 



42 VINES. 

"bears the most abandantly — ^for there is a vine which 
is barren — and that we choose to describe as the 
Unhealthy Plant. 

The healthy vine, as far as we have been able to 
discover, -presents an appearance of greenish brown on 
the leaf, the spears and runners are fine and thin, 
remarkable for their wiry nature and aspect. They 
seem of stunted growth, but form beautiful and tufted 
groups of spears in their process of matting. 

The Unhealthy Vine appears altogether brighter and 
stronger, and hence from this peculiaritj^ some are apt 
to be mistaken. We will on this point give the expe- 
rience of an old and practical grower, as it is from him 
we have derived our information. He prepared some 
land adjoining a fresh- water pond, which in every way 
was adapted to develop the cranberry vine. He came 
in contact with a few rods of vines which seemed to 
be good, and his impression was that if he could secure 
them he would soon have an excellent yard. He 
bought them and set them out; he watched them 
closely, and was gratified in seeing them look so 
thrifty. They spread and matted remarkably quick, 
and he hoped for a great yield from such young vines. 
But when blossoming-time came, he perceived that they 
did not put out so much as his other vines, and that 
there were but very few berries on them when picking- 
time came. He tried these vines year after year, and 



VINES. 43 

tliey only yielded here and there a fruit. He might 
have sold those vines repeatedly, but he refused to do 
so, and ultimately pulled them up and threw them 
into the pond. We asked him what the difference be- 
tween those barren vines and the fruitful ones was. 
This is his statement relative to this point : 

" The barren vines looked greener, had more bushy 
leaves, and stronger or thicker spears than those which 
produced the most fruit. I felt confident from their 
appearance that they were the best vines I ever saw; 
but I lived to find out that those signs which I took 
to indicate the productiveness of the plant, were only 
symptoms of disease^ which disease means barrenness."* 

This is the only case we have met with in which 
there was such a total failure in the productiveness of 
a good-looking vine. 

From what has been here stated, we fear that the diffi- 
culty of distinguishing between the barren and fruit- 
ful vine has not been much obviated ; but we will now 
state a method of selecting your vines, which cannot 
fail of assuring you of their real qualities. 

We assume that you contemplate making a Cran- 
berry Patch, that you have not on your own farm any 
vines, consequently you will have to go abroad for 
them. 

1. Ascertain who has the vine to dispose of. If you 

* Mr. Thomas Shiverick. 



44 VINES. 

are in a position to find several, all the better. Assur- 
ing yourself tliat vines are for sale by the individuals 
whom you have found, before you buy take this pre- 
caution. 

2. When the fruit is nearly ripe, go to those yards 
or patches in which the vine is for sale. See how they 
bear. If they bear well, or give a yield which is equal 
to the average of the vines of that year, you may buy. 
You will be certain that those plants are not diseased. 
You may then let them remain in the patch until you 
are ready to transplant, with this satisfaction, that you 
have obtained a good article. 

8. Or, if you have confidence in the person with 
whom you deal, you can purchase as well in the winter 
as at any other period of the year ; for the grower 
knows well which vines are good, and which bad, in 
what part of his yard grows the fine Cape Cod Bell 
Cranberry, and every other variety. 

These suggestions may be safely followed by the 
inexperienced in reference to cranberry culture, and 
lead to the most favorable results, as they will prevent 
deception, a consideration of some importance in an 
undertaking of this description. 

[Note. — The healthy vine, by some cultivators, is 
stated to be of medium thickness, or strength of spear, 
and bushy leaves. All the barren vines which we 
have examined are stouter than the yielding ones.] 



CHAPTER VI. 

CRANBERRY PATCH. 

How TO Make — When to Make. 

In the foregoing chapters of this manual, locations and 
soils best adapted to develop the cranberry vine have 
been pointed out ; it may not be nnadvisable now to 
describe the different methods of making a patch. 

1. On some farms, locations and soils are all that can 
be desired for the above purpose ; in such a case there 
will be little demanded beyond labor. Should the 
situation be that of a shallow pond, with a sandy bot- 
tom, in which the water stands deep in the winter, and 
in summer it almost dries up, the first step to be taken 
is, either to construct a drain or ditch, by which 
you may drav,r off the water from the pond. Should 
the bottom or surface be uneven and irregular, you 
must endeavor to make it more level. It is not an un- 
common practice with some growers, to make their 
patches flat, but this is rather passing into disrepute .; 
the incline plan of construction or formation being 
preferred by most cultivators. 

^45) 



46 CRANBERRY PATCH. 

The sand wliicli is on the edges of the pond can be 
carted or wheeled to the centre, so that you can bring 
the holes to that height which is most desirable. When 
this is done, you may rake over and give your patch 
that degree of sloping which will carry off the cold 
spring water. The object, in such a situation as this, 
of making a drain, is to carry off the water in the 
spring and summer ; but however favorable it may be 
to have your vines ''flowed" in the winter, that "flow- 
ing" must in the summer be prevented ; the drain does 
this effectually. 

2. Swamps or bogs have been spoken of as favorable 
situations in which the cranberry vine can be culti- 
vated. In such locations, there is generally more labor 
and expense incurred in their preparation than in 
many others. First, the brush and undergrowth must 
be cleared off. Secondly, the top turf ought to be re- 
moved, if possible. If there is not sand in or about 
the margin of the swamp, if it is not too distant, of 
course you will cart it in, and " fill up". and "fill in," 
making the covering about four inches thick. 

You will have to guard against, in this situation, the 
" coarse wild grass," which is the enemy of the vine. 
This is done by spading off the surface, and "filling 
in" with the sand. Should this situation be liable to 
be overflowed with water in the summer, the drain 
must be resorted to in order to save the vines, and 



CRANBERRY PATCH. 47 

give them a fair chance of blossoming and developing 
the berrj. 

8. The banks of fresh- water ponds, when properly 
managed and prepared, are good. Should such a 
situation be too stony, the stones and rocks may be re- 
moved, and the surface made as fine as possible. 
Should the water of the pond be apt to rise too high, 
at an unseasonable part of the year, and flood the 
vines, this ought to be guarded against by forming an 
embankment, which would preserve the yard from 
being deluged. 

4. There are situations which can be made available 
for a cranberry patch by a little labor. It will be ob- 
served, that there are locations which are favorable, 
both as to aspect and soil. But they are uneven or 
undulating. It is not unfrequently the case that a 
part of that land may be so low as to retain at all 
seasons of the year a degree of moisture which exists 
in sufficient quantities to meet the wants of the cran- 
berry vine. On other parts of it the hills or slight 
elevations may be too dry and arid. In this case, 
those mounds must be removed and the land brought 
to the level of that situation w^ " h is moist. 

5. Should you possess land which is in every way 
adapted to grow the cranberry, but is liable to be over- 
flowed with salt water, and you are desirous of turning 
that land to account by cultivating the vine, the first 



48 CRANBERRY PATCH. 

step to be taken is, to devise some plan by which the 
salt water can be driven back and effectually prevented 
from again overflowing it. This is done by making a 
dyke. The land thus redeemed must be prepared by 
taking off the sward or covering it over with beach 
sand. It is not safe to plant on land of this descrip- 
tion immediately after it has been redeemed. It is 
necessary to let the land he exposed to the rains and 
atmosphere a sufficient length of time, in order to get 
'' freshened." When the salt has been taken out of it, 
by exposure to the weather, then it is safe to plant. 

This chapter might be extended to a length which 
our limits will not allow, by describing how patches 
are made according to the location chosen. So we will 
conclude, by saying no cranberry yard is completed 
until it is fenced in such a manner as to keep out the 
cattle. 



CHAPTER VII. 

PLANTING VINES. 

Time for Removing the Vines — Best Time for Plantino — 
Methods of Planting — Sod Planting — Objections to — 
Separation of Sod Vines — How to place the Roots and thb 
Runners — ]\Iethods of Cutting and Planting — Broadcast 

Method — Propagation from the Seed in the Berry 

Methods of — Objections to. 

The cranberry vine can be removed from the soil 
in whicli it lias been cultivated, or from its native 
swamp, either in the spring or fall of the year. If the 
vine is taken up and left exposed to the winter weather 
it is almost sure of being killed, and therefore no one 
to whom this fact is known would do so. The vine 
can be removed from the soil and left without earth 
through the winter under some circumstances. If 
they are taken up in the fall and left in a moist cellar 
until spring, they will, when planted, take root and 
do well. ''I would as soon have vines left in my 
cellar through the winter, for spring planting, as I 

3 (49) 



50 PLANTING VINES. 

would have those fresli from the yard or the swamp."* 
Experiment has proved that the vine can be treated 
according to the latter method without detriment to 
itself. It will, therefore, be evident that the vine can 
be taken up and have all the soil taken from its roots, 
be packed in barrels, and forwarded to any part of the 
country, without being injured 

It is admitted by most cultivators of the cranberry 
that in the absence of ability to "flood the patch" in 
the winter, that it is better to plant in the spring than 
the fall, because those vines set out in the fall, which 
are not "flowed," will get frozen, and when the frost is 
thawed out, it will throw the young plants up and out 
of the soil. In circumstances like these, spring plant- 
ing is the best. 

Those who determine upon this season instead of 
the fall for setting out, will, of course, not remove 
their vines until they are prepared to transplant. May 
and the early part of June^ for spring planting, are 
believed on Cape Cod to be the most favorable 
months. Should you determine upon either one of 
these months, which you may do with perfect assur- 
ance that the removal will not injure your vines, you 
will, therefore, defer their removal until you are ready 
to give them a place in 3^our newly-prepared situation. 

* Aaron Crowell, Esq. 



PLANTING VINES. 51 

In other words, do not remove your vines until you 
can plant them. Though vines may be taken up and 
kept from the soil for three or four months in a moist 
and warm situation, yet all cultivators prefer the 
former method or time of removal. 

There are two or three advantages connected with 
spring planting, which we will name, which he who 
sets out his vines in the fall cannot m)ssibly have. 

If in the spring you intend to plant, you have the 
winter before you for preparation. You may proba- 
bly with your own labor and a little assistance be able 
to make as much as you think it best to plant. You 
have more time on your hands, and therefore you can 
afford to do your work better and thoroughly. To get 
ready for fall planting, you have to hurry everything, 
and consequently your work is likely to be slighted. 
In making your patch in the winter, you can study 
the characteristics of the location, and learn to what 
depth and extent it is liable to be flowed, and whether 
it is flowed from natural springs or water that is carried 
into it from other sources. 

Having called your attention to the time of re- 
moving and planting vines, we will present to the 
reader the various methods of planting, and specify 
those modes which are preferred. It must not be sup- 
posed that there is one uniform plan of treating the 
vine. The cultivation of this plant is but in its infancy, 



62 PLANTING VINES. 

and consequently growers will continue to make trials 
and experiments, until they acquire a knowledge of a 
method which to them is satisfactory. Various 
methods have been adopted and pursued with differ- 
ent degrees of success, which we will now mention : 
(See Plate No. 6.) 

1. Sod planting. — This is the oldest plan. It was 
customary in the early days of cranberry culture to 
cut out a square or oblong sod on which the vine was 
growing, and then to prepare the yard to receive it 
just as it was taken up. It was thought that this plan 
was the best, because the vine did not suffer by such a 
removal. But experience has taught cultivators that 
this is not the best mode. There is this forcible objec- 
tion lying against it. In removing the sod, rank weeds 
and foul grasses are brought with it, and it has been 
proved that these grasses and weeds retard the matting 
process of the vine, and the yard becomes one of 
weeds and wild grasses rather than of healthy cran- 
berry plants. If you plant on the /Sod System^ it will 
entail much labor upon you ; for even if you determine 
upon keeping down this wild stuff, you will find the 
difficulty to be greater than you anticipated. 

We may safely advise the intending cultivaior to 
guard against the method which has just been de- 
scribed. Another plan is, 







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PLANTING VINES. 53 

2. The separation of sod vines. — A method 
wliicli is far superior to the former. 

On obtaining the sod, and before planting, you take 
the sod on which the vine is growing, examine it 
closely, then place your fingers beneath or among the 
roots and tear them out as carefully as you can. 
When this is done, separate the vine into as many as 
you can conveniently, but be careful to leave two or 
three small spears or runners on the roots. When you 
plant, place the roots in the soil first, then spread out 
the spears or runners, and bury them in the soil, but 
being careful to leave out of the earth the ends or tips 
of those spears or runners. 

The reason for this method is, that from those parts 
of the spears or runners which are buried in the soil 
will start new roots, and each root will be a new vine, 
and instead of only having one root from which the 
vine may start, you have two, or a half dozen, accord- 
ing to the number of spears on the vine you plant. 
This is a favorite method among the most successful 
growers of the cranberry. 

A patch planted on this system matts rapidly, and 
has rarely been known to fail. It is about the best 
method now known ; you may follow it with safety : 
(See Plate Ko. 7.) 

3. Cutting planting. — ^In pursuing this method 



54 PLANTING VINES. 

when the vine is obtained, it is cut up into convenient 
lengths, say from four to six inches. One of these 
cuttings is taken, but not planted with the end down 
and one end out of the soil ; it is planted in the middle 
of the cutting^ leaving up both ends, so that when it 
takes root, instead of there being but one runner, there 
will be two. This is a good and safe method. — (See 
Plate No. 8.) 

4. Cutting planting may be continued in another 
form, take two or three slips or cuttings, about three 
or four inches long, and force the lower ends into the 
soil with a dibble ; each slip will take root and form a 
vine. This has been tried with success, and in some 
parts of the country it is a popular method. 

5. Bkoadcast planting. — When the vines are 
secured in sufficient quantities, they may be cut about 
two inches in length by a common hay cutter. When 
the patch is prepared to receive them, they may be 
scattered over the surface as is wheat or oats, and then 
well harrowed into the soil. The cuttings will take 
root from the base of the leaves, and will soon spring 
up and present the appearance of young and healthy 
vines. Some prefer to bury these cuttings in drills. 
But it is mere matter of opinion as to which plan is 
the best. 




A. ::'urface of Sod i i ^^f^J 

frcin-Mase cf Leaves. 




UPRIGHT CUTTIN& PLANTING 
Tlatc 8 



PLANTING VINES. 66 

6. PRorAGATiON FEOM SEEDS. — If the seeds of 
the cranbeny are sown, they are not always certain 
of coming up. The situation may be too cold for 
them, and the seed is destroyed. Seed is often tried, 
and will send up a small fine spear, but generally is 
killed after the first year. We have heard it stated 
by several cultivators that the seed may, under some 
circumstances, be used, and in the third year the vines 
raised from them would bear small quantities of fruit. 

The best situations in which to sow the seed of the 
cranberry are the edges of fresh meadow land ; such 
places are generally protected, and they seem favor- 
able, or rather the most favorable situations for propa- 
gation from seed that are known. 

Some persons who have tried this experiment have 
put into the soil the whole berry ; few have been found 
to come up, the seeds have rotted. We tried another 
plan, which • was as follows : we obtained the berry 
and then broke it in water. The seeds separated from 
the berry ; these we collected and sowed in the patch 
prepared for them, and found them to do better than 
any other method. But raising vines from seed is un- 
certain, hazardous, and if you succeed, you have a 
long time to wait for the fruit.* We would not 
advise seed planting ; from vines and cuttings the best 
patches are formed. 

* Asa Shiverick, Esq. Joseph Hall, Esq. 



56 PLANTING VINES. 

7. Distances of planting. — This is wholly regu- 
lated bj the quantity of vines you have at your com- 
mand, and the extent of land to be covered. Some 
will plant them three feet apart. In this case, it must 
take them a long time to mat. Some plant them 
eighteen inches apart, which of course is better than 
the former plan, because they will be matted all the 
sooner. The rule is, the nearer you can plant your 
vines the better, providing your patch is not overrun 
with weeds and foul grass. The object in such a 
case of planting them wider apart would be to give 
the cultivator an opportunity of getting between the 
vines and destroying the weeds, and whatever else 
might be likely to choke them. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

TREATMENT OF YOUNa VINES. 

Weeding — Hoeing — Flooding. 

When the vines have been planted, their develop- 
ment depends much upon the treatment they receive 
from the cultivator. If they are neglected, or not 
noticed, they will have to contend against wild grass 
and foul weeds, so that it will be impossible for them to 
be very thrifty. 

If the patch which is but moderately cared for is com- 
pared in appearance, condition, and fruitfiilness with 
the one that is neglected, the advantage will be found 
to be with the former, over the latter. Cranberries do 
not need that amount of labor bestowed upon them 
which is given to the cultivation of corn ; but never- 
theless, they must be watched and attended to, in order 
to be saved. 

In patches of land converted to cranberry cultiva- 
tion in which there is an abundance of weed, it will 
be necessary to destroy it, or keep it down in such a 
way tliat the young vine may have few obstaclrs 

3* (67) 



58 TREATMENT OF YOUNG VINES. 

to its spreading and matting. In some regions of 
country this is done by walking over the patch a 
short time after planting, and if the wiry grass has 
made its appearance, pulling it np. K this stuff is kept 
down and out of the way, in the first year the vines 
will .give encouragement to the cultivator. In manag- 
ing the young vines, it is deemed necessary to attend 
to them in this way for the first three years, when 
after that period they require less attention and labor ; 
but it will always be well to do a little every year by 
way of keeping down any foul stuff which may have 
made its appearance. 

In some localities, it is customary to go over the 
patch in the spring of the year, and to pull up any 
briers, or the roots of wild grass which maj^ be met with. 
In well-established yards more labor than this is sel- 
dom called for. For a large yard a day is sufficient. 

Hoeing is resorted to by some cultivators. Where 
the vines are planted two feet apart this is necessary, 
or may be resorted to with safety for the first two years. 
In that time, the heavy or thick tufts of weed can 
be killed, and the soil, thus lightened, will prove 
a benefit to the vines, as it is thereby rendered more 
porous. After that period it will be hazardous to hoe, 
as it can hardly be done without cutting and destroy- 
ing some of the vines. Should the weeds threaten to 
become troublesome after this, they can be removed by 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG VINES. 59 

pulling them up witL. the hand, after having loosened 
them with a fork. But generally after the second or 
third years' careful cultivation, the vines will take 
care of themselves and will eat out weeds and grass, 
and thus leave but little to be done by the grower. 

On uplands, where the vines are planted, the way in 
which they are treated in order to make them do well 
is to hoe them, and that as frequently as you can. In 
this case, it is usual to plant in hills, and keep a space 
unoccupied between the hills, so that in hoeing, there 
will be no runners cut or destroyed. But the object 
of hoeing on uplands is more with the view of making 
the soil light and porous, so that moisture will the more 
readily be taken in and received hy the roots. 

Flooding. — In fall planting, it is always best to flood. 
And where the vines can effectually be covered with 
two or three feet of water, they are not likely to suffer. 
The depth of water which covers them prevents them 
from being frozen, so that when the thaw sets in, the 
vines retain the situation in which they were planted. 
This water should be drawn off in the middle or latter 
end of May. But if frost continues, it is not well to 
drain it off until it disappears, for by keeping the vines 
flowed it prevents them from blossoming, so that there 
will be no danger of the flowers being destroyed by 
frost. Though the vine is a hardy plant, yet its blos- 
soms, and berries are very sensitive, and are soon 



60 TKEATMENT OF YOUNG VINES. 

injured by the frost, early or late. In managing the 
vines, the cultivator will have to be guided by the 
condition of his yard whether it is weedy or other- 
wise, dry, or too moist, and the nature of the climate 
in which his patch is situated. 



CHAPTER IX. 

BLOSSOMING TIMK — PRPiCAUTIONS 
REQUIRKD. 

In tlie winter, the cranberry vine appears of a dark 
brownish green, and scarcely looks better than the 
poverty grass which abounds in sandy regions. In 
the spring, it begins to lose that peculiar color, ex- 
changing it for a clear dark green. Then it is that 
the uninitiated in the culture of cranberries begin to 
anticipate something from the vines, which at least 
will be pleasing to the eye, if not profitable to the 
purse. The blossom of the cranberry makes its ap- 
pearance in the latter part of June, and sometimes as 
late as the first of July. The quantity of blossom 
depends upon the quality of the vines, the suitability 
of location, the adaptation of soil, and the season. 
From the appearance of the vines at that time, the 
cranberry grower begins to form some idea of the 
crop he may possibly have. 

The flower of the cranberry is beautiful and deli- 
cately formed. It seems as though it would be sus- 
ceptible to injury from trifling causes. Its color is 
that of a very pale pink, slightly tinged with purple ; 

(61) 



62 BLOSSOMING TIME — PKECAUTIONS. 

and it is rarely or ever found on the runners, but in- 
variably on the spears or stems wbicli are thrown up 
from the creepers. 

There are about this time some precautions required ; 
but they are more needed in some parts of the country 
than in others. 

Districts in which there are cranberry yards, which 
are liable to be visited by frost late in the spring, call 
for especial care from the caltivator. If his vines 
blossom too soon, they will most probably be killed 
by the frost, or at most he will have but a scanty crop. 
The vines may, in the blossoming season, present an 
abundance of flowers, and a night of frost cut them 
off. In other regions where they are not so likely to 
suffer from this cause, the same precautions are not 
demanded. 

Here, and in cases of the kind just named, the ad- 
vantage of flooding is apparent. Those who can flood 
their vines, can retard the blossom, or keep it back 
until they think theu^ vines are not likely to suffer by 
frost. The practice generally followed is, to keep the 
water over the vines till the last of May or middle of 
June, and then draw it off. The sooner the water is 
drained from the yard, the vines will blossom all the 
earlier for it ; but that would be no advantage when 
frost has not entirely disappeared from that locality. 



BLOSSOMING TIME — PRECAUTIONS. 63 

To keep back tlie blossom, notliing more is required 
tlian to continue the water over the vines. 

Flooding is not of so much importance and value in 
those regions where the frost soon or early in the 
spring disappears, as it is in those parts of the country 
where it continues up to the last of June. 

[IN'OTE — Yines which are "flooded" during the 
winter, when the water is drawn off from them are 
tender, and the blossom which such vines put out 
is sooner injured than that which appears on the un- 
flooded vines.] 



^^^"^ CHAPTER X. 

DISEASES OF THEi CRANBERRY. 

The Worm — Two Kinds — One attacks the Yine and the other 
THE Fruit — Fire Blight — Rot — Best Remedy for the Worm. 

Like every other plant or fruit- vine, the cranberry 
is subject to certain drawbacks, arising from causes 
which we shall endeavor to enumerate. 

1. There is the worm. We have not seen it, and 
have only met with one grower who has, and he de- 
scribes it as about an eighth of an inch in length."^ It 
has been sought after with extreme care and diligence. 
Its presence seems only to be known by the devas- 
tations it commits. And so great are they, that in a 
night, vines which seemed doing well are rendered 
sickly, and the crop is cut off. Not having seen this 
enemy to the vine, and being unable to ascertain, even 
from those who had suffered much by them, we are 
therefore unable to identify it with any insect which 
visits other fruits and destroys them. (See Plate, No. 9.) 

This insect attacks the vine in a very peculiar 

* Thomas Shiverick, Esq. 

(64) 




A. HeaLtky Leaves 

B. Diseased Lenw.-^ 



-:as--. 




APPEARANCE OFVINE DISEASE . 



DISEASES OF THE CRANBERRY. 65 

manner. The vine of last year will have started 
spears or uprights, in that season those spears have 
not attained their growth. In the following spring 
they will become taller, and the new growth will be 
perceptible by the contrast. The former year's growth 
has a dark hue, and stronger stem ; the new growth 
is thinner, green in appearance, and altogether more 
delicate. " The worm begins its ravages from the 
point that the new growth has started. It does not 
descend down the old growth, but from the base of 
the new spring growth it begins its operations, work- 
ing upward."* This insect comes in swarms. It 
alights on the leaves, and extracts the moisture. 
There seems to be in the vine or young leaf a juice 
which by them is sought after. When it is present it 
is known by the vine being webbed up and appearing 
as though it was suffering from the fire blight. 

At the period when these attacks are made, there is 
some degree of certainty. It is most frequently im- 
mediately after blossoming time, and their ravages are 
often fatal to the crop of that yard which they visit. 
There is something singular about the plan upon 
which they act, but as it is new, we must describe that 
action, leaving the ascertaining of the cause thereof to 
further research and more experience. We are fami- 
liar with the situation of a large pond which is bordered 

* Howes Chapman, Esq. Joshua C. Howes, Esq. 



66 DISEASES OF THE CRANBERRY. 

bj beautiful cranberry patches. It was there that 
in the last season this insect made its appearance. It 
attacked certain patches and left the adjoining ones 
untouched. The reason for this has not yet been 
given, extended study of the subject may enable us in 
some measure to account for this. 

2. The fruit worm. — This is different from the 
insect we last referred to, it is named the cranberry 
worm. It is something like the apple worm, but 
smaller. It makes its appearance about the latter part 
of July or the beginning of August. In its attack 
upon the berry it eats its way through the exterior 
skin, and then enters the interior of the fruit, which 
after that is of no value to the producer. This cran- 
berry worrrij is one of the greatest enemies that the cul- 
tivator has to contend against. 

8. The rot. — This is not so common as either of 
the other enemies of the cranberry, to which we have 
alluded, yet the rot appears in some yards, and sweeps 
off the crop from that particular locality it visits. 

We have visited a yard, which in former years was 
a shallow pond. The owner had it filled in and level- 
led off. On this, he planted the vines ; they did remark- 
ably well, were soon matted, and seemed to be thrifty, 
The vines put out great quantities of blossom, and the 
fruit began to form. The cultivator noticed that in 
the lower part of the yard the berry rotted, and this, 



DISEASES OF THE CRANBERRY. 67 

year after year was the case. The upper part of the 
yard remained untouched. To account for this it is 
difficult, but we will give the opinion uf the proprietor 
of this patch and of another experienced cultivator,* and 
leave the reader to draw his own conclusions. That 
part of the yard in which the berry rots is a little lower 
than any other portion. It is supposed by the owner 
to be too wet, and that this is the cause of the rot. 

The vines on this patch are exceedingly well matted, 
they are thick, and it is supposed that in consequence 
of this, the sun cannot fairly shine upon them, and 
hence the rot. 

If it is the first, then, the remedy is to raise the soil, 
and bring it to the level of that part of the yard in 
which the cranberry does not rot ; or, if it is the second, 
there is nothing more required than to thin out the 
vines, so that the sun may shine fully upon them. Is 
there any remedy for the worm ? ISTo remedy has yet 
been discovered for that insect which attacks the vine 
and the young spears of the plant, should it reappear 
in yards that it has already visited, doubtkss the pro- 
prietors will try some experiments which we trust will 
be successful. 

To meet the case of the cranberry worm^ flooding is 
resorted to. It is well known, that those yards which 

* Joseph Hall, Esq. Thomas Hall, Esq. 



63 DISEASES OF THE CEANBERRY. 

can be flowed, are not so likely to be attacked by this 
worm as tliose which, are not covered with water during 
the winter. The conclusion thus arrived at is, that 
flooding is a partial remedy for this enemy to the cran- 
berry. Hence, those who are constructing a yard, will 
if convenient endeavor to secure this advantage, if it 
does nothing more than aid in keeping down the cran- 
berry worm. 



CHAPTER XI. 

CRANBERRY PICKING TIME. 

Different Methods of Picking — Earing — Packing. 

The cranberry is rarely ripe until the beginning or 
middle of October. At that time the cultivators 
begin to pick the fruit and get it ready for market. 
There are two methods of picking. The first is by 
hand. It is customary in some regions to engage chil- 
dren for this purpose, who are paid at the rate of 
thirty or thirty-three cents per bushel. It is seldom 
that the best or quickest pickers gather more than three 
bushels during one day. To do this is extraordinary 
work. There must be a superintendent or overseer 
with them, or they wiH be apt to slight them. The 
interest of the cultivator is to have his vineg picked 

clean. 

The second method is by raking. This cannot be 

adopted in cranberry yards where the vines have 

become matted. To attempt it would be folly, because 

the teeth of the rake would tear up the vines and 

runners, and do them a serious injury. 

Those yards in which the rake is used from the first 

(69) 



70 CRANBERRY PICKING TIME. 

year of gathering tlie berry, has been the plan adopt- 
ed. The rake has pulled the vines in one direction, 
and it is always in the direction in which they lie that 
they are raked from year to year. Where this plan 
is followed, it is not likely to be so injurious as it 
would be in the previously mentioned case. 

The packing of cranberries is of some importance. 
It is usual to spread them out so that all the dew or 
moisture may evaporate. Then they are winnowed or 
picked over. The rotting or defective berries are re- 
moved, and they are cleaned over in such a manner 
that leaves and straws are not to be found among 
them, when in a marketable condition. 

If the market to which they are to be forwarded is 
not very distant, they are packed dry in barrels, and 
thus sent off. But in sending them to Europe or Cali- 
fornia it is deemed best to pack them in water. Small 
kegs are usually secured for this purpose. AYhen they 
are thus treated, the good ripe cranberry can be sent 
on the longest voyage without being injured. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE OREAT CRANBERRY MARKETS. 

Boston — New York — Philadelphia — Influence of Climate on 
Prices — Relative Yalue of Different Species of Cran- 
berries — The Increase in the Consumption of Cranberries. 

In the immediate neighborlioods in which, cran- 
berries are cultivated, but few are consumed. The 
reason of this is, people living at a distance from the 
place in which they are raised are willing to pay a 
higher price for them. Time was when the cranberry 
was not valued more than the common barberry. But 
people have lived to discover its excellent qualities, 
and since it is so highly appreciated for its culinary pur- 
poses, there are those who are willing to pay an almost 
fabulous price for the berry. It has become in many 
families a necessary luxury. The wealthy would as 
soon part with the apple as the cranberry, and it is 
the rage among the rich, and even those who are 
not so fortunate, for this fruit, which keeps it up 
to that price which puts it beyond the reach of the 
poor. 

(Tl) 



72 THE GREAT CRANBERRY MARKETS. 

Boston is tlie great market for cranberries. It is 
nearest to those regions in which the vine is cultivated, 
and the fruit-dealers, knowing how much it is sought 
after, can, by the course thej have recently pursued, 
realize handsome profits upon what they purchase. 
Of such profit is the cranberry, that growers have 
been visited by city dealers a month or six weeks 
before the berry has been ready to pick. They have 
offered a price which was deemed handsome by the 
cultivator. Some took them, as they bid for the 
whole crop, and others refused. Even the last season, 
growers received from ten dollars to fifteen dollars per 
barrel. This has been obtained in the Boston market. 

The New York market is said to be good for the 
cranberry, and this is well known to the Boston dealers 
who ship the fruit to that port and Philadelphia, and 
the other great cities of the Union. 

The consumption of the cranberry in the great 
cities is such that the dealers can realize their own 
prices, by doing as they did last fall, buy up the berry 
and get it into their own hands. The wealthy will 
have the cranberry, and it is immaterial to them 
whether they pay eight or twenty dollars per barrel. 

The American cranberry is coming into notice in 
many parts of Europe, but more especially in Eng- 
land. The way in which it is sold there is in small 
bottles, into which the fruit is first put, and then filled 



THE GREAT CRANBERRY MARKETS. 73 

with water and liermetically sealed. These are sold at 
a high price. We have seen a pint of cranberries 
marked " Cape Cod Bell Cranberry," sold at four shil- 
lings sterling, in the Strand, London. There is not 
the slightest doubt that as the American cranberry is 
superior to the English or Eussian, a market will be 
found for it, at paying prices, in almost any part of the 
civilized world. It seems to us that the American 
agriculturists do now take the lead in the cultivation of 
this fruit, and will continue to do so. We are con- 
vinced from what we know of this country that if our 
farmers only proceed in making those trials and experi- 
ments which it will be worth their while to do, and 
bring their swamps, ponds, and bogs into a proper 
condition to receive the vine (in the way we have pre- 
viously pointed out), they will not only be able to 
supply all that are needed for home consumption, but 
foreign demands likewise. But let not any one sup- 
pose that more cranberries are now raised than can be 
disposed of at paying prices. If the cultivation of the 
cranberry proceeds as rapidly as we hope it may, all 
that can be raised will find a market in the country. 
The influence of the weather upon the English 
grain market is well known. How dry. or wet weather 
will affect prices there is astonishing. The cranberry 
for its market price before it is picked is somewhat 
dependent upon the climate 
4 



74 THE GREAT CRANBERRY MARKETS. 

If there has been a frost about the time of blossom- 
ing, then that circumstance is laid hold upon,*and the 
cry is raised, there will be a short crop ; or should 
there be too much rain, or too much sunshine, or a 
frost early in October, all are equal blessings to the 
great dealers, who know well how to manage this part 
of the business to their own advantage. 

All cranberries are not of equal value. Some will 
not keep so long as others, neither are they so highly 
colored or flavored as the best varieties, yet the poor- 
est berry is often disposed of at the same price as the 
best. 

There are cranberries which are picked before they 
are ripe in order to save them from the frost. In some 
parts of the country producers do this to save them- 
selves, or their fruit would be affected, and rot. Cran- 
berries gathered before they are ripe will not keep so 
long as those that have matured. 

Hundreds of bushels are taken into the market in 
this condition, and they are afterwards branded and 
sold as a superior fruit, realizing just as much as the 
very best. 

Those cranberries which come into the market that 
have lost their green hue, and only have a delicate 
flesh color must be used within a few months or they 
will decay. 

Growers of cranberries have their preferences for 








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THE GKEAT CRANBERRY MARKETS. 75 

certain varieties of fruit, yet it is strange tliat there 
should be a difference in the quality of this berry, and 
all kinds should bear a uniform price. 

The Bugle cranberry, or egg shaped, large and 
small, is a good variety. It is pale in color, not so 
deep and dark a crimson as some other varieties, 
neither is it valued so highly by those producers who 
are acquainted with the qualities of the Bell or Cherry. 

The Cherry is round and large ; of this there are two 
varieties, large and small. It is hard, its color dark 
almost black when properly cultivated. See Plate 
No. 10. 

The Bell is the favorite of some of the most exten- 
sive cultivators of the cranberry. It is a large variety, 
and grows in some parts to great perfection. 

The Southern cranberry will ripen, but it is small 
and light, consequently not so valuable. 

The cranberry grown in those regions of country m 
which the season is too short for them, cannot be so 
valuable as they otherwise would be. 

The cranberry produced on Cape Cod attains greater 
perfection than it does in any other country with 
which we are acquainted. It is larger : it is deeper in 
color ; it will keep better than any other. 

The " Cape Cod Bell Cranberry" and the '' Cape 
Cod Cherry" now take the lead, and must continue to 
do so ; and we think that the time will come when 



76 THE GREAT CRANBERRY MARKETS. 

these varieties must command a higher price than any 
other that will be offered in the market. The climate 
and soil of Cape Cod are well adapted to the perfect 
development of the cranberry, and these natural ad- 
vantages combined Avith the experience of cultivators, 
gives them the advantage over others. 

There is a great increase in the consumption of 
cranberries, and this fact should encourage those who 
possess lands, of the kind pointed out in the body of 
this manual, to make an effort to cultivate the vine. 
If you can but get the vine into a favorable situation, 
and know how to manage it, it must pay you for the 
pains taken in its cultivation. 

The cultivation of the cranberry is but in its infancy. 
Ten years more of hard and practical experience in its 
management will do much to establish or destroy the 
theories which have been set up by some cultivators. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE OXYCOCCUS PALUSTRIS, OR, UP- 
LAND CRANBERRY. 

Since writing the previous parts of this manual, I 
have been favored with communications from Professor 
Shepherd of the Western Keserve College, Ohio, and 
from Mr. Trowbridge of New Haven, Conn., on a 
recently discovered upland cranberry, and also with a 
specimen of the fruit gathered from the vine in its un- 
cultivated condition. 

It has long been desired to adapt the lowland or bog 
cranberry to the dry, poor, upland soils. Many have 
made the attempt to do so, but have failed. If the 
variety now under notice is what it purports to be, I 
see no reason why it cannot be appropriated by farmers 
who possess poor land, thereby superseding the neces- 
sity of wasting efforts on attempts to naturalize the 
swamp vine to arid uplands. 

Professor Shepherd found the upland cranberry 
during his recent explorations around Lake Superior. 
It was growing on the dryest and poorest soils, flourish- 
ing and producing an abundance of fruit. 

(77) 



78 UPLAND CRANBERRY. 

! The fruit, a specimen of wHch I now have in my 
possession, is much smaller than the lowland cran- 
berry. It resembles an ordinary pea in size and shape. 
Its color is of a beautiful pale red. The skin is bright 
and glossy. It is not so hard a fruit as the swamp 
berry, and therefore will not keep so long. It is soft 
and is excellently adapted for jellies and preserves. 
The flavor is not so acetous but remarkably pleasant 
and agreeable. If the fruit becomes known, it is more 
than probable that it will be much sought after. I 
have seen a variety much resembling this, growing on 
the moors and barren mountains in the north-western 
parts of England. The inhabitants of those regions 
seek them in their season with great avidity, prizing 
them highly for their rare qualities. 

The vines on which they are found resemble some- 
what the bog cranberry, and they usually bear well. 
It is seldom, indeed, that this crop is cut off, for they 
are invariably gathered, being ripe, in the early part of 
September. The upland cranberry found in the British 
Provinces only requires to be known in order to be 
appreciated. 

The question arises, can it be cultivated and made 
to subserve the purposes of the agriculturist ? Can it 
be made profitable as a fruit? Why not? If the 
swamp cranberry has been cultivated and found to be 
of great value to those who have taken pains to grow 



UPLAND CRANBERRY. 79 

them, why not the upland? The objections which 
lie against the latter, ten or fifteen years ago applied 
with equal force against the former. What is now 
wanted is only a fair trial on the part of those who 
take any interest in the cultivation of cranberries. 
These vines must be experimented with and tried ; and 
doubtless Professor Shepherd feels convinced that they 
will be highly remunerative, or he would not recom- 
mend them. There are thousands of acres of land in 
this country which are dry and parched, and seemingly 
unfit for the development of vegetation, but if future 
experience in connection with this variety should 
prove them to be of value, and their cultivation prac- 
ticable, we may hope to see these now useless tracts 
occupied and made of use to the farmer. 

Without saying anything further, I call the atten- 
tion of the reader to Professor Shepherd's letter, upon 
which he can form his own opinion, and also to the 
announcement found at the end of this manual, that 
Mr. Trowbridge has made arrangements to supply this 
variety of vine to those who may require it 

IS^EW Haven, Dec. 28, 1855. 
Dear Sir : — As Mr. Trowbridge is about to forward 
to you a specimen of the Oxycoccus Palustris, or Up- 
land Cranberry, at his request I would respectfully 
state that these berries are such as I have seen growing 



80 UPLAND CRANBERRY. 

in great quantities in various sections of British 
America, particularly on the Neepcgon coast of Lake 
Superior. 

The plant is much like our common cranberry, but 
more vigorous, covering the ground entirely with a 
green mat, while the surface is flaming red with 
berries, more delicious than anything of the kind I 
have ever tasted. 

I have no doubt the plants may be propagated to 
great advantage on poor, cold, sterile lands of a north- 
ern exposure in all the United States. But they 
should not be put in marsh or bogs. 
EespectfuUy yours, 

Forest Shepherd, 

Prof. Ag. Chcm., Western Reserve Coll., Ohio. 



CORRESPONDENCE, 



LETTER I. 



Kev. B. Eastwood:— Your letter, asking questions 
in regard to planting and raising cranberries, is now 
before me, and sliould have liad an earlier reply but 
for my absence from home. 

1. The location I chose was peat swamp, thickly ^ 
grown with what are called whortleberry bushes, and 
other wild shrubs. I cleared the bushes and turf clean 
to the peat. If any turf is left, rushes and other wild 
stuff will get in. Planted the vines in the fall. If 
planted in the spring on peat they would suffer from 
the drought of summer, and very likely many of them 
would die. Peat bottom is very wet and muddy in 
the spring, and bad for setting the vines ; while in the 
fall the surface of the ground is dry, and the process 
is performed comparatively easy. 

2. I flood mine, otherwise they would be very likely 
to be thrown out of the ground by the frost, particu- 



(81) 



82 CORRESPONDENCE. 

larlj the first year, and perhaps the second. A friend 
of mine cleared a peat swamp the same year I did, but 
coiild not flow it in consequence of its location, the 
whole of his vines were thrown out, and had, of course, 
to be reset in the spring. Last year, the heavy fall 
rains flooded it, and they have since done first rate. 

I prefer fall planting, particularly on peat, as the 
flooding in winter settles the soil round the roots ; and 
in spring as soon as the water is let ofiP, say about the 
middle of April, the vines set at once to growing rap- 
idly ; very much faster, and come into bearing sooner 
on peat bottom than any other. 

I set my vines in the fall, say in August and Sep- 
tember. The following autumn I only had a bushel 
or two ; the next year, about twelve bushels ; and last, 
the third year, seventy-three bushels of the very finest 
quality of fruit, and I look for a large increase the next 
year. It cost me, I think, to clear my swamp (about 
one acre and a half), including the cost and setting of 
vines, about three hundred dollars, then the turf that 
was taken off I consider worth half the money for 
manure. EespectfuUy, your ob't serv't, 

C. Hall. 

[Note. — This is one of the most beautiful yards we 
have seen. Before Mr. Hall appropriated it to the culti- 
vation of cranberries, it was a useless, worthless swamp. 



CORKESPOXDEKCE. 83 

We call tlie reader's attention to the cost of this yard, 
and the returns which Mr. Hall had from it from the 
■first to the third year. Setting the third year's yield 
at three dollars per bushel, which was a very low price 
indeed for cranberries this fall, it gave him two hun- 
dred and nineteen dollars, equalling within eighty-one 
dollars the original cost of the yard, allowing it to 
have been three hundred dollars. (See plate Ko. 10.) 



LETTER II. 

Dear Sir : — ^Yoars of the 1st inst. has this moment 
been received, and in reply I would say : 

1. My cranberries are grown on a soil of 'peat much 
and loose heach sand (not common earth), which I am 
convinced is the element for cranberries to grow in. 

2. I plant my cranberries in hills eighteen inches 
apart, by making a hole in the ground about three 
inches in diameter, and of sufficient depth to receive 
the roots of the plants ; then, after placing the vines 
in their places, I am careful to have them opened, and 
the soil pla-ced in such a manner so as to spread the 
hills all around, to the sides of the hole that is made 
to receive them, so that the hills after they are set 
resemble a saucer placed in the ground and pnrfly 



84 CORRESPONDENCE. 

filled with earth. If they are ^et in a bunch in the 
middle of the hole, and the soil placed or filled in close 
around them, it keeps them too close or compact to do 
well. 

3. My cranberries that I depend on are surrounded 
by wood and brush, so that they are not exposed to 
winds and are warm ; such a situation, I think, is much 
to be preferred to one that is cold and bleak. 

4. I flood my premises at the time the worm makes 
its appearance, and no other time. 

Yours in great haste, 

Cyrus Cahoon. 
Decemher bd, 1855. 



LETTER III. 

Dear Sir : — In reply to your inquiry regarding 
my success in cultivating a certain piece of cranberry 
ground, which I have selected near the sea-shore and 
by a sandy pond, where the tide had in previous years 
flooded it with salt water during heavy storms, I 
would say : I commenced stopping out the water by 
throwing up dikes ; after which I planted a few vines 
near the pond. The next summer the vines most of 



COKRESPONDENCE. 85 

them died, tlie ground being too salt for tliem to thrive. 
In two or three years, however, they sprang up and 
spread their runners in every direction. 

In 1851 I commenced carting sand, making as much 
land in the pond as out, leaving the land on the in- 
cline towards it. I then planted the vines three feet 
apart, in hills, in the spring of the year. The first 
season I got but little fruit ; the second, four bushels ; 
the third, seventeen ; and this autumn, from thirty 
rods of land I gathered seventy-one bushels of cran- 
berries. Eespectfally, 

Novemler 28, 1855. A. Crowell. 



LETTER IV. 

Dear Sir : — I have a small piece of cranberry 
ground near the sea shore, the soil is part peat and 
part heacli sand. Those vines that were placed in the 
sandy soil look well ; have yielded from one bushel 
to two and a half per rod the past year. Those in the 
peat soil look very Avell, but have not been so fruitful. 

Yours truly, 

November 27, 1855. John Hall. 



4* 



86 CORRESPOi^DENCE. 

LETTER V. 

Dear Sir : — I received yours bearing date of 4:tli 
inst., asking a few questions in relation to my experi- 
ence in the "culture of cranberries," which is not very 
extensive ; but have some experience as I have now 
under cultivation four different lots, one of about 
three-fourths of an acre; one fine mixed sand of a 
redisli and white^ intermixed with quick sand^ which 
have been set, one-half eighteen, and the other eight 
months, and have flourished Avell. 

My second lot was set about eighteen months on a 
redish sand, with stones, mixed with a clay loam ; this 
also is doing well. 

My third lot is on a salt meadow^ dyked in, this lot 
has but a small part been set with vines, as it was 
found to be too salt, which will kill the vines in mid- 
summer; the meadow is covered with white beach 
sand where the vines are set, I think this flourishes 
the best if the salt is sufficiently soaked from the soil. 
This I consider my best piece, except a lot lately 
bought ; the material to set the vines being coarse 
beach sand, and sufficiently low that water is not too 
far from the vines in the driest season. 

My opinion is, that the cranberry vine will grow 
the fastest, and bear the largest and finest fruit on 
what I call coarse beach sand, in low, wet soil ; such 



CORRESPONDENCE. 87 

places we value the most, as the vines run over the 
ground so as to cover it, in from two to three years, when 
set three feet apart, in hills, and will pay from twenty- 
five to fifty per cent, on all investments in land, where 
it does not require much expense to remove the land 
to a suitable distance from the water. 

Yours respectfully, 

E. Crowell. 
New York, December 7, 1855. 



LETTER VI. 

Dear Sir: — In answer to your request for some 
account of my experience in the production of the 
cranberry, I will say, that some ten years since I was 
encouraged (from the success of some of my neigh- 
bors in the cultivation of the cranberry), to try the 
experiment on a small spot of ground, very near the 
sea-shore, in a hollow, where the water in the winter 
and spring stood to the depth of a foot in the deepest 
part. It generally dried away by June. I had pre- 
viously drained and sowed it down to grass, in plough- 
ing for that purpose, I had discovered some two or 
three vines which stretched out before the plough to 
the length of six feet or more, which I thought indi- 
cated a favorable location. 



88 CORRESPONDENCE. 

In the fall of the year I went to a swamp where 
vines grew wild, and dug ont forty sods, I then dug 
out holes with a stub hoe, about three feet apart, into 
which I put these sods of vines, and stamped them in 
with my feet. The next season the vines grew rapid- 
ly, and as they spread, the other grasses diminished 
till the vines had complete possession of about six 
rods of ground on one side of the pond or hollow, 
where the sand from the beach had blown in and 
raised the ground a little. For the last three or four 
years there has been produced from one peck to one 
bushel per rod. The fruit on one side of these vines, 
very soon after they are out of blossom, rots very 
much, in some seasons more than one-half of the crop 
is thus destroyed before maturity. I am unable to 
account for the decay on one part of the lot, while on 
the other they come to maturity as sound as cran- 
berries in general. 

Three years since I had the whole lot improved and 
set with vines, they grow very well, and the fruit pro- 
duced is sound and healthy. The last season was 
very dry, some of the vines, I fear, are destroyed, the 
fruit was literally baked on the vines. This spot is 
some twenty feet above the sea, the water during the 
winter and spring is held by a bed of blue clay, 
which lies about three feet below the surface. 

In the autumn of 1850 I commenced improving 



CORRESPONDENCE. 89 

another swamp for tlie production of cranberries ; this 
swamp was covered with brush and briers, in the 
winter it was filled with water to the depth of from 
one to two feet. My operations were commenced by 
cutting the brush off even with the ice in the winter, 
then filling in with common earth (a sandy loam) to a 
level three inches above the water line. In June fol- 
lowing I set my vines in hillsj about two feet apart, 
they have grown very well, are nearly matted over 
the ground, and in 1854 I picked about six bushels 
from one-fourth of an acre. The last season there was 
a prospect of an increase in the product, a much 
larger quantity put out on the vines, but the crop was 
almost entirely destroyed by the worm, which attacked 
them before they were fully grown, and continued 
till nearly ripe. 

I have continued my operations upon this same 
swamp till now, I have my whole claim, about two 
acres, set with vines. I have, in filling in the swamp, 
used common earth, dead sand from the bank, clay 
loam and white sand, and in all cases taken the ground 
whence I took my earth down to nearly level with the 
swamp and set it with vines. I have to contend with 
rushes which grow rapidly where I have filled in with 
bank earth and loam, I mow and rake them off in 
July. In places where I have followed three or four 
years, they are fast diminishing, and will soon be over: 



90 CORRESPONDENCE. 

come by tlie vii.es. On portions of this swamp cover- 
ed with the white sand the vines gi'ow much more 
rapidly. I have some which have been planted three 
years, which are very well matted now over the 
ground. From my inexperience I have not been suffi- 
ciently careful in clearing the ground of wild plants, 
but am much troubled with a species of low black 
berry, which I try to exterminate by pulling it up by 
hand. 

I would recommend to every beginner to be very 
careful to clear the ground of all noxious roots and 
plants ; also in the selection of vines, and set such only 
as are known to hear fruit. 

On the whole, I think my experiments (though 
vines grow well and look promising) have not been 
attended with the success of some of my favored 
neighbors. I think my location is not the best, but 
am not discouraged. Eespectfully, 

Joseph Hall. 



LETTER VII. 



Dear Sir : — Agreeable to your request I proceed 
to give my opinion, which is formed from my own 
personal experience, on the best mode of the culture 



CORRESPONDENCE. 91 

of cranberries. Coarse light sandy soil is best adapted 
to the growth of cranberries. The ground should be 
low and moist. The best mode for planting is by 
transplanting the vines. Sometimes I set them in 
drills, sometimes in sods, say twelve inches apart. 
The best time for transplanting is in October or Ko- 
vember. I also think that great advantage is derived 
from flooding — although I have no means of flooding 
mine, except the rains, but when they are flooded I 
am almost certain of a crop. It likewise keeps the 
vine from frost during the winter, and kills the many 
insects that inhabit these places. I think they should 
be drained about the first of May. It usually takes 
from four to six years for the vines to get properly 
run together — they then yield the largest cranberries. 
The yield per rod, as average, is from one to three 
bushels. Yery respectfully yours, 

December 8th, 1855. HiRAM Hall. 



LETTER VIII. 



Dear Sir :— In reply to your inquiry concerning 
the cultivation of cranberries, I will say, that three 
years ago I set out in May about one-half acre with 



92 CORRESPONDENCE. 



■%4 



cranberry vines, on a piece of swamp land, bordering 
on the meadow. It was covered with brakes, bayberry 
and whortleberry bushes. I took off the brush and top 
sod, removing all the roots, and with them built a 
dyke around the piece to keep off the tide water. 
Part of this swamp was a soft quagmire, the other a 
knoll about three feet high. This knoll I levelled off 
by wheeling the soil into the bottom. The soil was a 
hard black sand. I then set out the vines in the sods 
that I found growing along by the edge of this meadow, 
about eighteen inches apart. The bottom, where I 
filled in sand, grew up to rushes, so as to obstruct the 
spreading of the vines. On the upper part the soil 
being hard and surrounded by cold spring water^ I 
think will not prove a favorable location for the 
growth of cranberries. 

KespectfuUy yours, 
December lOih, 1855. Howes Chapman. 



LETTER IX. 



Dear Sir : — In the year 1813, by my father's re- 
quest, I planted some two rods of cranberry vines by 
the side of Scargo Lake, or pond, which I took from 
a swamp where they grow in a natural state. They 



COKRESPONDENCE. 93 

floTirislied well for some two years and bore some 
berries. Then being neglected, tlie sand blew over 
them and they soon became extinct. 

In 1840, cranberries bringing a very high price, my 
attention was again called to their cultivation, I con- 
cluded to go to work on the same spot and prepare the 
ground, which I did by removing the sand and levell- 
ing the ground of about fifteen rods, within six inches 
of water. I then planted the vines, without the sod, in 
hills, abon.t two feet apart, in the spring of the year, 
they grew well, bearing every year but one, when they 
were overflowed, the water remaining on them nntil 
the season- for blooming was past, as the pond had then 
no outlet, but now has. 

I have now three-fourths of an acre set with vines, 
The soil is coarse sand, and lies on the westerly side of 
said pond. I have never received any injury from 
frost, spring nor fall, and have always delayed gather- 
ing until about the 10th of October, when the fruit 
would be ripe. I have kept no record of the num- 
ber of bushels I have gathered, but have taken two 
and a half bushels from one rod in some years. "When 
I first commenced, I made the ground level, but now 
I leave it in the form of an inclined plane ; my reason 
for this alteration is, the land being high, and too 
much cold water oozing from the ground, which I 
think is a damage that causes the moss to grow and 



94 CORRESPONDENCE. 

root out the vines very soon ; all tliej want is the 
ground moist and loose. 

Yours respectfully, 
December ISth, 1855. Thos. Hall. 



I^ETTER X. 

Dear Sir : — In the fall of 1852 I bought a piece of 
low springy land adjoining a salt meadow, then well 
covered with the rush grass. I put on from the ad- 
joining embankment about one foot of sand ; in taking 
which I widened my cranberry ground about two 
rods. I set out my vines the same fall in sods eighteen 
inches apart. 

When spring came I found my sods or vines all 
thrown out of the ground by the frost, and appearing as 
though they had never been planted. I then again 
replanted the vines hill by hill. The second year the 
rush made its appearance again on that part of the 
ground filled in, and has increased to this time, threat- 
ening destruction to everything that comes in its way. 
I consider this piece of ground a failure, except the 
strip two rods wide adjoining the embankment or 
upland. 

My first mistake was, selecting a cold, springy piece 



CORRESPONDENCE. 95 

of land, and my next was, planting the vines in the 
fall on a piece of ground that could not be protected 
from the frost by flowing, by which means the vines 
were stunted and their vigor destroyed so that they 
could not compete with the surrounding grass, and 
were, therefore, overpowered. 

I have one other piece of cranberry ground adjoining 
a large pond, warm and sandy. I set out the vines on 
this piece in May, and got two bushels of cranberries 
to an acre the same year. This piece having been 
planted but eighteen months, promises finely, but I do 
not expect much yield till the third year. This piece 
cost me, when competed, at the rate of $750 per acre. 
It is made on the poorest sandy soil I could get, and 
such I would recommend to the cranberry grower, as 
I never saw a soil so poor that cranberry vines would 
not grow in it. My idea is, the poorer the soil the 
less trouble I shall have to keep down other grass, no 
fear of the vines, they will grow where no grass will. 

Yours, 

December 11th, 1855. J. C. HowES. 



LETTER XI. 



Dear Sir: — ^I received yours of the 8th instant, 
and will proceed to answer your questions : 



96 CORRESPONDENCE. 

*' On wliat location do you prefer to plant vines?" 
I consider them rather of a marine plant, and there- 
fore should prefer to plant as near salt water as possi- 
ble, and not have them overfloived with salt water. 

" What soil do you prefer ?" A wet, sandy soil, 
the whiter the sand the better. My reasons are, there 
will be less grass grow to choke the cranberry vine, 
and the berry will grow larger. 

" What is your method of setting out, in hills or 
drills ?" I have set them in hills and in drills, and 
am not able to decide which flourishes best. 

"Do you flood?" I do, where it is practicable it 
protects the vine from frost. 

"Do you consider it a profitable undertaking?" I 
do, if any one has a proper place. I have raised three 
bushels of cranberries on one rod. 

Kespectfully, J. Freman. 

Orleans, December lO^A, 1855. 



The following instructions were written by Mr. 
Bates, to guide those who intended to cultivate the cran- 
berry on uplands. We subjoin it for the purpose of 
giving the intending cultivator the advantage of this 
method : — 



CORRESPONDENOE. 97 

''1st. Select a situation for your cranberry field on a 
clay soil, on such as is not liable to bake, or on a dark 
loam soil, or on all moist soils where tbere is a mix- 
ture of sand, mostlj^ of reclaimed lands ; such as can 
be made moderately dry, are well adapted to grow the 
cranberry. In fact most all soil that is natural to 
grow the j)otatoe, is well adapted to grow the cran- 
berry, {yet the first mentioned soil looulcl he preferred). 
I think there are portions on most of the farms situ- 
ated in the ^liddle States, and their vicinity, that are 
well adapted to grow the cranberry, and I should pro- 
pose to all desirous of commencing the business, to put 
their plants on different parts of their soil, and by so 
doing the better soils may be ascertained. As far as I 
have ascertained, there are three varieties of cranberry, 
viz: — the Bugle, the Cherry, and the Bell — I have 
never known of any other variety of the berry that 
would naturalize to dry soil except the Bugle cran- 
berry ; this sioecies of the berry grows much in the 
form of an Qgg — it is inclined to grpw in the wild 
state on the borders of cranberry bogs, spreading its 
way to upland soil, this species is much larger than 
the others in its wild state. Persons engaging in the 
cultivation of the article should commence with the 
last mentioned species, and by commencing with those 
that have been cultivated and naturalized to a dry soil, 
they will much sooner accomplish their object, and 
5 



98 COERESPONDE]SXE. 

with mucli less trouble and expense, as tlie plants 
multiply and increase abundantly. Persons com- 
mencing with one or two thousand will be able to ob- 
tain plants of their own raising sufficient to trans- 
plant acres in two or three years. 

"2d. Prepare your soil the same as for soAving grain, 
by plowing, harrowing, and making your soil even — 
then mark it out in drills, eighteen or twenty inches 
apart, putting the plants in the drills five or six inches 
apart — hoe them slightly at first, till the roots become 
clinched, and afterwards no other cultivation is needed. 
The plants may be expected to run together and cover 
the whole soil in two or three years. The cranberry 
grown by cultivation usually yields from 150 to 400 
bushels per acre ; its fruit is two or three times as 
large as the wild fruit, and of beautiful flavor ; it 
readily keeps sound from the harvest time of it to the 
time of harvest again." — Maine Farmer, 



LETTER XII. 



Dear Sir : — I have tried the experiment of raising 
cranberries on the uplands. In the fall of 1852 I set 
out vines on about one-quarter of an acre of ground, 
which was on a very high hill, the soil was a gravelly 



COKRESPONDENCE. 99 

ham. The vines lived and bore a few cranberries. 
The .soil, I think, was rather too rich, having been 
manured the year previous ; in consequence of this, 
the grass grew up and choked the vines. Besides this, 
the summer following the one in which I set my vines 
we had a severe drought, which dried and baked the 
ground to the great injury of the vines. I believe 
that if I had set out the vines in the spring^ and hoed 
iliem two or three times during the season, they would 
have done much better and yielded a larger crop. 

From the experiments which I have made in 
upland cultivation of the cranberry, I believe that the 
vine can be successfully cultivated on the upland ; 
providing the vines are well cultivated. I design set- 
ting out another patch, on the cultivation of which I 
intend to apply the knowledge I have gained from my 
former experiment. Eespectfully, 

James Howes. 



LETTER XIII. 



Dear Sir : — Yours to Thomas Lathrop, Esq., of 
the 8th inst, came duly to hand, and he has request- 
ed me to answer your questions to him. 

1. As to the location, " before the growing of cran- 



100 CORRESPONDENCE. 

berries tliere/' lie would state that it was a swamp 
varying from two to five feet in depth of water and 
springy peat. Beach sand (the only soil we have here) 
was carried on so as to raise the swamp a few inches 
above the ordinary height of the water in July, and 
the vines were set in said sand. 

2. As to the kinds of soil, we have but one kind in 
this town, and that is pure heacli sand ; hence we can 
"prefer" no other if we would. 

8. Mr. Lathrop is unable to "" determine" the cost 
of preparing the ground and setting his vines. His 
work has been expensive, as it was preparatory to his 
future doings. Much of it has been in roads, beach 
grassing hills, &c. He will bring into vines about 
seventy acres at much less cost than his four or five of 
cranberry ground now in good condition. 

4. As to " flooding vines," nature does all that is or 
can be done in this respect. The water in all our back 
swamps (and some of these contain several hundred 
acres) is upon the same level. How can you make it 
otherwise with beach sand through which the water 
must filtrate so readily ? Yines are now in most 
places one foot or more from (or above) the water. 

5. The "yield per acre" cannot be definitely deter- 
mined, as his vines are not regarded as yet fully in a 
bearing condition. His lot first planted of two or 
three acres, (he has never measured it) about the sixth 



COKRESPONDENCE. 101 

year yielded seventy barrels — the next year fifteen 
barrels — and the next, or the last year, eighty barrels. 
The springs were very low the last year, and the 
berries suffered, otherwise I think he would have 
doubled the quantity. He has kept most of them, and 
has had offered $16 per barrel, in New York. You will 
agree with me in supposing that low as it is, $1280 is 
not a small income from so small a field. 

In Mr. Lathrop's absence I make these statements* 
Perhaps hereafter he will favor you with other and 
more interesting. I have, however, been familiar with 
all his management, and am personally interested in 
the cranberry culture. I have recently bought one- 
sixth of a cranberry swamp, where the company have 
built a house, and employed a man by the year in 
bringing it to cranberry vines. I also own another 
lot, where at much less expense I hope to bring a large 
lot into cranberry land. 

There are companies, like that with which I am con- 
nected, formed, and they have brought swamp into 
vines at a cost from $200 to $400 per acre. 

Yours truly. 0. Myriok. 

Provincetow:N', December 12th, 1855 



The following letter, cut from the Journal of Com- 
merce, which was communicated by Mr. Bagley, will be 



102 CORRESPONDENCE. 

both instructive and interesting, as it very forcibly 
illustrates some of the principles laid down in this 
" Manual." We commend it to the reader, believing 
that useful hints may be gathered from it, and applied 
on some lands, to the successful cultivation of the 
cranberry : 

CRANBERRIES — ^THEIR CULTIVATION. 

"I chose for the experiment a maple swamp on high 
land, containing peat (95-100 vegetable matter) from 
one to ten feet deep. We commenced draining it in 
June, 1849, and having set a few vines for trial, we 
proceeded to cultivate corn and potatoes ; but finding, 
after two or three years, that we were obliged to keep 
it too dry for cranberries, we concluded to set it all with 
vin-es, in order to flow it, which would injure other 
crops, and I have now nine acres of vines, mostly set 
within about three years. My mode of cultivation is 
as follows, viz. : we clear up the swamp by taking off 
the top, roots and all, to the depth of one foot or more 
(which makes excellent manure for the adjoining up- 
land), and having drained it by ditching, mark out the 
ground with the corner of the hoe, and set out the 
vines, which we have obtained from the common wild 
bogs, wherever we could get them ; and having drop- 
ped five or six vines in the hoe mark, stamp them in 
with the heel, and haul on some dirt with the hoe, 



CORRESPONDENCE. 103 

covering the vines about two-thirds up with dirt. 
This operation may be performed at any time of the 
year, when the ground is not frozen, if not too dry. 
It is then necessary to keep them clear of grass and 
weeds. 

"I have heretofore thought that grass would not 
hurt them after the vines got well spread ; but I am 
convinced by this year's experience that they cannot 
be kept too clean. I have one acre that was set four 
years ago. About three-quarters of the acre has been 
covered with rushes, and is noAv; while the other 
quarter at one end of the lot has been kept clean. I 
have the past week measured off one square rod of the 
clean vines, and gathered two-and-a-half bushels of 
berries from the rod, which is no more than an average 
of the quarter acre, which will be testified to by the 
gentleman who assisted me in picking them, as also by 
several other gentlemen who have seen them since, as 
the other berries yet remain on the vines. The other 
three-quarters acre covered with grass, has been mostly 
picked ; and although the vines are as large, I shall 
not get twenty -five bushels of berries from the three- 
quarters acre — ^the one yielding at the rate of four hun- 
dred bushels per acre, the other about thirty, showing 
the great advantage of keeping the vines clean. 

" My meadow would pr.obably have jrielded one hun- 
dred barrels more this year, had it been kept clean. I 



104 CORRESPONDENCE. 

pick mj berries by hand, as I am convinced there is no 
advantage in raking them. 

"We have to pick after the rake, and I do not think 
the vines will bear as well the next year. I flow my 
meadow about two feet deep in the month of December, 
and keep it on until the middle of May, when I draw it 
down, leaving about two inches of water on the surface 
under the vines, as long as there is any fear of the frosts ; 
then keep it as near the top of the ground as I can. 
The rake also bruises the berry, and causes it to rot. 
I find the cranberry will begin to bear well from three 
to five years after setting. The cost of cultivation I 
shall put in round numbers as follows, viz. : Cost of 
land, $12 per acre; cleaning, $100; vines and setting, 
$50; cost of cultivation, $10 per year — for four years, 
$40 : total, $202. But the top that we take off is worth 
$20 for manure, leaving $182. Interest for four years, 
makes $229.34 per acre. My four-year-old vines that 
are clear from grass (say half an acre more or less), 
will average three hundred bushels per acre. I have 
been offered $2.50 per bushel above the cost of pick- 
ing, which gives one a clear profit over and above the 
Tjost of land and cultivation on the half acre, of 
$260.33. I do not gather my berries until they are 
ripe ; for if picked while green, they are bitter and un- 
fit for use ; although by spreading they may become 
quite red, still they are not worth half price. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 105 

" Tliey may be spread on floors, or put in good bar- 
rels and piled on tlie north side of a building, until 
cold weather, when they should be put under cover, 
in a cool cellar, or building, where it will not freeze 
hard. 

" The berry will not be as red as it would be if 
spread, but I think it will keep better. For my ex- 
periment with the cranberry on upland, I selected a 
piece of new land where the wood had just been cut 
off. I had it dug over with the grub hoe in the fall of 
1849, taking out the loose stones and roots ; and hav- 
ing prepared four square rods, I had it drilled eighteen 
inches apart, filling the drills with peat mud. I took 
the vines from a wild wet bog in the month of Novem- 
ber, and set them about one foot apart in the drills. 
This is all that has been done for them except to keep 
them clear from weeds for two years. 

"In the fall of 1853, I picked from the lot two 
bushels and three pecks of berries. In the su.mmer of 
1854, they bade fair to yield a much better crop, but 
were cut off by the hot and dry weather in August, and 
I did not get quite two bushels. 

"Last winter the vines were killed, probably by the 
extreme cold weather, but sprang up again from the 
roots and bloomed very fully — but so late in the season 
that they have been much affected by the drought, and 
I shaU not get more than one-and-a-half bushel. The 
5* 



106 CORRESPONDENCE. 

land and labor, with interest for four years, cost about 
$1.25 per rod. This, as will be seen, gives a good 
profit ; but the cranberry crop is uncertain, unless in 
situations where they can be flowed in winter and kept 
moist. ' 

"Yarieties. — The folly of asserting that there is 
but one variety of the cranberry, can only be equalled 
by asserting that there is but one variety of the apple, 
the pear, or the potato — the former maintaining their 
peculiar forms, colors, and times of ripening, as dis- 
tinctly as either of the latter; the large white cran- 
berry, on which there is nothing but a faint blush 
(some of them being entu^ely white), growing side by 
side with the small and entirely red berry, that is never 
one-quarter as large. So with many other kinds. In- 
deed, they vary in form much more than many distinct 
varieties of the apple. 

'' I have a large variety on my meadow, by getting 
the vines from all the wild bogs in the vicinity. I 
have several kinds growing in separate beds, and have 
marked several other kinds, which I intend to set by 
themselves in the spring. I have twenty varieties 
put up for "The American Institute Fair." — Edmund 
Bagley, in Journal of Commerce, 

[ISToTE. — Some producers are not prepared to admit 
that there are more than two or three varieties of the 



CORRESPONDENCE. 107 

cranberry, but we believe that more extended ac- 
quaintance with, tliis fruit will set them at a higher 
number.] Septimus. 



I^ETTER XIV. 

Dear Sir — Having had some experience in the 
cultivation of the cranberry, I find that the soil best 
adapted to the growth of the cranberry is beach sand^ 
or light sandy earth. 

In our selection of a plat we should be particular in 
making use of one that can be flooded from November 
to the first of June, which prevents the insects from 
destroying the blossom or cranberry. To do this, level 
the surface and dyke the land where it does not com- 
municate with a pond. 

The best time for transplanting the vine is the 
spring months, not removing the earth from the roots. 

December 11th, 1855. Abijah Howes. 



108 VINES, WHERE TO BE HAD. 

VINES, WPIERE TO BE HAD. 

From what has been stated in the previous parts of 
this manual, some readers may have determined upon 
attemptii>g the cultivation of the cranberry, and are 
desirous of obtaining vines of the quality described — 
vines which have been naturalized by cultivation. 
I can recommend all such inquirers to AVilliam Crowell, 
Esq., of iS^o. 26 Coenties Slip, New York, N. Y., for 
vines with which to set out a patch or yard. His vines 
can be relied upon as being of the best quality. Letters 
addressed to him or the author of this work, through 
the publishers, will be promptly attended to. 

The vines which Mr. Crowell has for sale are trans- 
ported from his yard on Cape Cod to New York, so 
that orders can be filled as soon as they are received. 
Good vines, I mean those which have been improved hy 
cultivation^ can be supplied at from $7 to $10 per thou- 
sand. It will be found that plants of this description 
are cheaper in the end than those which are procured 
wild from the bog, though the latter are furnished at a 
much lower rate. It will require some years to bring 
the wild vine to that state of perfection which belongs 
to the cultivated one. And the probability is, that 
many vines obtained wild from the swamp are barren ; 
it will therefore be cheaper to purchase those the quali- 
ties of which arc known and proved, 



APPENDIX 



TO THE 



CRANBERRY M:^ISrXJA.L. 



FURNISHED BY THE HON. SIMON BROWN, EDITOR OF THE " NEW" ENGLAND 
FARMER," FROM THE TRANSACTIONS OF THE MIDDLESEX COUNTY 
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, MASSACHUSETTS, 1855. 

I ACKNOWLEDGE my obligations to the Hon. Simon 
Brown, Editor of the New England Farmer for the ma- 
terial which constitutes the appendix to this treatise. 

I commend what is here embodied to the careful at- 
tention of the reader, believing that he will find the 
intelligent statements made on the culture of cranberries 
to be worthy of his notice. They are highly practical, 
and if carried out on the lands distinctly named herein, 
they will be followed with some degree of success. I 
would call the reader's attention more especially to the 
statistics which are given, as they so clearly show that 
what has been said on this fruit is not an exaggeration 
of its value to the farmer. 

The following are taken from the Report of the Mid- 
dlesex County (Mass.) Agi'icultural Society for 1855 : 

(09) 



110 APPENDIX. 

MR. ADDISON FLINT'S METHOD OF CRANBERRY CULTI- 
VATION, WITH STATISTICS. 

To the Committee on Cranberries. 

Gentlemen : — I see in your advertisement of pre- 
miums to be distributed, one for Cranberries, which I 
hope to obtain ; and I refer you, for a description of the 
manner in which I proceeded to raise them, to the Ag- 
riculture of Massachusetts, as shown in the returns of 
the Agricultural Societies of 1853, pp. 245, as follows : — 

Mr. Flint's Statement. — In the autumn of 1848, 
I built a dam and flowed the swamp from that time till 
August, 1846 ; then let off the water. , 

The following October, burnt over the swamp and 
set the vines. The vines were cut up with a sharp hoe 
or shovel, and set in hills, three and one-half feet apart ; 
the bunches about the size of a quart measure. 

In raising from the seed, I planted in October, 1846, 
about half an acre ; crushing each berry between the 
thumb and finger, and placing it just under the mud, 
single berries in a hill, three and a half feet apart. Also, 
sowed broadcast a number of bushels of refuse cran- 
berries the following spring. Yery few vines appeared 
from them for two or three years ; no berries till 1852, 
then very small ; in 1853, good size, in quantity worth 
picking. 

My practice has been to stop the water in October, 



APPENDIX. Ill 

and keep it on till May, or until the weather is warm 
enongli to start vegetation — then lower it down to the 
top of the vines, and keep it on them until I think the 
spring frosts are over, then let the vines be fairly out 
of water until the berries are grown — say from 10th to 
15th August — then draw it off for ripening and picking. 

We found three or four small beds of native vines 
on the swamp, after we let off the water to set the 
vines, and a few very fine berries ; there are now proba- 
bly a dozen beds that bear berries. 

In 1850, we picked seventeen bushels of berries on 
the swamp ; in 1851, twenty-eight bushels ; in 1852, 
ninety-three bushels ; in 1853, we estimated them at 

one hundred and fifty bushels. 

In 1852; the native vines produced by estimation, be- 
fore selling, forty bushels ; the transplanted vines, sixty 
bushels ; the increase this year is principally from the 
transplanted vines. 

I now give you a statement of the j^roceeds : 

1850, picked 17 bushels, sold 15 li busliels for $26 20 

70 00 

300 00 

bbls. " 380 00 

" " 305 00 

probable value 500 00 

$1581 00 



1851, ' 


' 28 


<( 


" 26 


1852, ' 


' 93 


(( 


" 93 


1853, ' 


' 52 


bbls.. 


" 52 


1854, * 


' 47 


it 


" 47 


1855, ' 


' 50 


"by 


estimatic 



I learn from the first Annual Keport of the Secretary 
of the Board of Agriculture, that the cost of preparing 



112 APPENDIX. 

land and setting vines is $1,50 to $1,87^ per rod, 
wliicli is very extravagant, compared with, tlie manner 
I Lave pursued : — 

The cost of building my dam by contract . $20 00 

Ox labor, furnished by myself, estimated . 5 00 

Settino; vines on about an acre . . . 25 00 

—$50 00 



The cost of stopping and letting oS" water, and 
taking care of the same since 1846, yearly, 
$10,00 $90 00 

Reckoning the cranberries, for the past six years, at 

six hundred bushels, and the cost of picking and 

marketing the same at 75 cents per bushel 450 00 

$540 00 



Net profit on $50, expended nine years . . $1041 20 

Yearly income on $50 115 67 

KespectfuUy yours, 

North Reading^ Sept. 25, 1855. Addison Flint. 

[Note. — Since the above statement was made, the 
Secretary has learned from Mr. Flint that he had just 
fifty barrels of cranberries as his crop of 1855, which 
lie sold for thirteen dollars a barrel, delivered at the depot 
two miles from his house, making the pretty sum of 
six hundred and fifty dollars as the product of two acres 
of what was quite recently an almost worthless bog 
meadow. Mr. Flint also states, that in looking about 
lie notices a good many tracts of land ajoparently as 
good for the cranberry crop as his, and that some of the 
pieces might much more readily be flowed and re 
claimed than his own.] 



APPENDIX. 113 

MR. AUGUSTUS H. LELAND'S METHOD OF CRANBERRY 

CULTURE. 

Gentlemen: — The piece of cranberry meadow to 
wliich I invite your attention, contains about three- 
quarters of an acre. The mud and peat is deep, and 
the plat rests on a light layer of sand, and under that, 
as near as I could ascertain, at one point a clayey 
gravel. There were four or more kinds of grass upon 
this piece which had been cut off yearly ever since 
my rememberance. 

The first of these grasses is called carex filiformis — 
a kind of sedge-grass, which passes by the name of 
water-grass — grew upon the greater portion of this 
piece. Another kind is the carex strida^ a kind of 
sedge-grass called hassock-grass, and also a narrow- 
leaved sword-grass. The third kind, carex locustris, a 
kind of sedge-grass with broad leaf, and is called broad - 
leaved sword-grass. The fourth kind is scripus erio- 
phorum, the true name being wool-grass, called the 
broad-leaved sword-grass and also broad-grass. These 
grasses I shall allude to in my experience which will 
be annexed to this statement. 

In the autumn of the year 1838, I think^ with a 
cast-iron shovel ground sharp and put in good cutting 
order, I removed squares or sods of the turf from the 
ground, one side of these squares nearly correspond- 



114 APPENDIX. 

ing in length to the width of the shovel, the depth of 
tlie hole being from four to five inches. I then fron-> 
beds of vines cut sods of vines corresponding in size 
and in depth to that which T had removed, which I 
placed in the holes already made, and with the feet 
trod or pressed them firmly into the hole, that they 
might not be disturbed by the action of the ice or 
water, during the Avinter or spring. The distance of 
these sods, or hills, one from another, was from three 
and a half to four feet. As some of these vines which 
I transplanted had grown from fifteen to eighteen 
inches in length and lay nearly level with the ground, 
care was taken to raise the vines and place the shovel 
under so as not to cut off the vines, and also to get a 
sod of the proper size, otherwise the vines would be 
cut off and greatly injured. As far as I have seen, 
vines which are of much length, and which lay under 
water during the winter and spring, will, if let alone, 
naturally lean to the north-east, (for the same reason 
that fruit trees lean that way), and as I rake my vines 
all one way, that is, I draw the rake from the south- 
west to the north-east, so I placed those sods of vines 
which did not stand erect so that they would lean to 
the north-east. 

Every year since the year 1840, these vines were 
eaten up as regularly as the year came round by a 
worm, called in this vicinity the cranberry worm. 



APPENDIX. 115 

This worm may be tlie same, or at least a species of 
the same worm, Avhich operated the last of June on 
the apple tree; its a|)pearance to the eye is the same, 
its operations the same, and it has the same faculty of 
jerking itself back as the apple-tree worm. Some sea- 
sons they seemed to threaten total annihilation, the 
vines presenting to the eye the same appearance that 
an orchard does when its foliage has been eaten by the 
canker worm. To destroy this worm, the vines were 
kept under water from spring until the first of July, 
1852. This destroyed all the worms I believe, as I 
have not seen one since. When the water was taken 
off the vines grew vigorously, forming the blossom bud 
for the present year, and the result is as handsome 
a lot of berries as ever was seen. 

Nearly every year I have cut the grass near the firsi 
of July, thereby giving the plants the air, sun, and 
light. 

One side of this piece borders u.pon a small brook, 
which, previous to my cultivating the vine, in a dry 
time would become dry. In this brook I formed a 
dam in two places ; these dams, most of the time in 
a season like this, keep the meadow wet, and the water 
is forced back among the vines, the object of which is 
to protect them from frosts, which usually occur in 
all the summer months in low lands. 

In addition to the above statement, I would like to 



116 APPENDIX. 

give my experience in tlie cultivation of tlie cranberry ; 
I would do it with tlie hope that by my efforts and 
experience, Avhether successful or otherwise, the culti- 
vators of this fruit may be encouraged and emboldened 
to persevere in the cultivation of this delicious fruit, 
which promises the cultivator so great a reward. 

It is more than twenty years shice I entered upon 
the cultivation of the vine with high hopes, believing 
that the cranberry was a hard thing to exterminate, 
that it would destroy grass in all situations and in all 
soils, and cause even hassocks to disappear. But after 
a trial and many years of observation, I find the cran- 
berry a hard plant to destro}^, except with the plough, 
and that it will not root out and destroy all grasses in 
all situations and soils. I find that in some soils the 
vine Avill not drive out certain kinds of grasses, when 
in other soils it may succeed. Take for instance that 
kind of sedge-grass which we call hassock-grass, this 
"upon banks of streams, and in our swails where it is 
more or less irrigated, roots with such strong hold and 
throws up the blades of grass so thickly that there is 
no room for the vine in a soil less rich, and the vine 
will in all probability succeed. 

Take, for instance, the osmunda spectabilis^ called in 
this vicinity buckthorn, and is known to botanists by 
the name of flowering fern. This grows in the form 
of a tree, its slender stem supporting a large top with 



APPENDIX. 117 

a large leaf, oversliadowing all around, and shutting 
out the sun, light and air so much that the vine can- 
not grow. On one occasion I set out vines among the 
flowering fern and in about three or four years the 
sods of vines could not be found. Close by the side of 
this was a large bed of vines, covering nearly a quarter 
of an acre of ground, (except four or five little places of 
a few yards in each), which was flowering fern or buck- 
thorn. In order that the ground might be compara- 
tively covered with vines, I cut up and carted this 
buckthorn to the upland, and set sods of vines in its 
place, expecting that they would some day take the 
]3lace of the buckthorn. In this I have not been dis- 
appointed, for these plats are loaded with the largest 
fruit ; so thickly do the berries lay this day, that in 
some places they would, if collected and laid upon a 
level place, completely cover the ground. But this 
quarter of an acre of vines in a few years was gone, 
except a few stray runners ; the flowering fern had 
taken their place, and the plats I set out are only left to 
tell where the original bed of vines stood. Kow I do 
not suppose that in every situation and kind of soil 
that this fern would supplant the place of the vine — 
although in this case it did. I have several small plats 
of ground besides, one containing some fifty square 
rods, the turf containing the roots of the buckthorn. 
I cut in strips about fifteen inches wide, and set it up 
edge- wise to dry. These were burnt when dry and the 



118 APPENDIX. 

ashes carried to the compost heap, as thej are not 
needed on this soiL 

These plats were set with sods, with most excellent 
success — one-half rod gave me this season one bushel 
of berries, which is at the rate of at least three hun- 
dred and twenty bushels to the acre. These experi- 
ments show clearly that the plant cannot be set in this 
grass with any prospect of success. There is another 
kind of grass called polly pod, also, small brake. Dry- 
opteris tliehjpleris, which, as far as I have seen where it 
covers the ground, casts so much shade that the 
vine cannot succeed in it. It is more easily pulled up 
than the buckthorn j and when dried and bunied, 
vines may be set with good results. 

There is another kind called by some the broad- 
leaved sword-grass, and by others broad-gi^ass, and by 
botanists wool-grass^ scirpus eriophorum. It grows in 
round plats or clumps, varying in diameter from three 
to twelve feet. In the piece I presented to you for 
examination there are several plats of this grass, 
which show that the vine cannot take root in it. 

Upon this same piece of ground is another kind of 
grass covering some two rods called carex lacustris^ a 
coarse kind of sedge-grass; its general appearance 
does not differ from wool-grass, the blades of which 
are not so thickly set in the soil as the wool-grass, yet 
sufficiently so as that the vine succeeds with dif- 
ficulty. 



APPENDIX. 119 

The otlier kind of grass in this piece is called carex 
filiformis^ a kind of sedge-grass, and water-grass. This 
grows in wet places, throwing a less number of blades 
which cast less shade, and when mown there is less 
stubble than any other kind of grass I have noticed. 
On the whole, the vines have flourished quite as well 
in this as in any other grass, although my success 
has been equally good on one piece of hassock and 
sedge-grass. 

On another plat which was covered with hassocks I 
set sods between them which have nearly disappeared, 
the hassocks standing alone in their glory. I would 
recommend that all hassocks be removed before setting 
out vines. And also, let no man set out rose-bushes 
with his vines. 

I would suggest that when the thermometer, the 
direction of the wind, &c., denote a frost, if there be a 
stream of Avater which the cultivator can command, 
that a dam be built and so constructed that the water 
may be thrown back during a cold spell, and when it 
is past let the water run again. If a stream of water 
of sufiicient size does not flow — -reservoirs of water 
may in places be laid up for use in a frosty time. 

As far as my observation extends, there are but few 
soils in which the cranberry will not flourish. When 
they will not, the character of the soil may be changed 
by carting on gravel, loam or sand, at any time in 
winter; if necessary, spread it upon the ice from one 



120 APPENDIX. 

to three inclies in depth ; the vines will find their way 
through and grow with new life and vigor. 

I have in two instances made trial of burning the 
vines because thej were old and did not seem to bear 
fruit. These pieces contained together some ten to 
fifteen rods. 

I can see no good reason for burning vines except to 
destroy the cranberry worm when it cannot be done 
by flowing in summer. If burning is resorted to, 
great care must be taken not to burn in too dry a time. 
If there be but few vines and other matter to burn, it 
would be necessary to select a time more dry than if 
there were a great body of vines — as they would burn 
almost any time when once on fire. 

Meadows for cranberries must not be drained. 

Above is my statement, and also my experience, and 
I rest my claim for the premium on three reasons. 

1. The successful experiment in transplanting. 

2. In establishing the principle that flowing until 
the first of July will effectually destroy the cranberry 
worm, so destructive to the vine. 

And lastly, 3^et by no means the least, my experi- 
ence and observation of more than twenty years in the 
cultivation of the vine in the different grasses, which 
may, by being given to the public, save those who cul- 
tivate this fruit, much precious time as well as large 
sums of money. Augustus H. Leland. 

Sherhoryi^ September 13, 1853. 






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